Chapter 3
Again, I don't own any of these characters
After making sure that Porkers had enough food and water, they all loaded up in the SUV and headed out. Soon enough, they were on the road and on the interstate. As the passed the two hour long drive, Cody and Bailey filled Max in on some of their adventures at Seven Seas High. Max kept asking questions about Cody and Bailey's relationship. As they told her about their love story, she lamented on how she wished she could find her prince charming too (Bailey's words). They both told her to keep her chin up, and she would find him when she least expected it.
They pulled into Storrs and made their way to UCONN's campus. Following the directions Carey gave them, they quickly found the dorm they were looking for and parked. (Yes, I know finding an open parking space on move in weekend on any college campus is impossible, but this is fiction afterall). They make there way up to the correct floor and down the hall to Zack's room. They found the door propped open and Zack and Carey inside organizing things. Cody knocks on the door, and Zack and Carey look up to see him and Bailey. They don't see Max standing behind them.
"What are you two doing here? I thought you had orientation..."
"We did...this morning. We decided to come down for the afternoon and help out..."
Zack smiled. "Thanks...But we have most of the heavy lifting done..."
"Oh well...What would you say to us bringing you a surprise then?"
"What kind of surprise? You letting me and Woodchuck have your TV?"
"Not quite...Besides, we've grown to like it...Anyways, here's our surprise..." Cody steps aside, and there stands Max.
"Hey, Zack..."
Zack just stares in complete shock. "Max?"
Max smiles. "So, you do remember me then..."
Zack smiles. "Of course..." He walks over and hugs Max. "I can't believe you're here..."
Unfortunately for Zack, that was the exact moment Cassie came into the room through the bathroom and caught the sight in front of her. "Hey, Zack...What is going on here?"
Zack turned and realized he was in a compromising position. "Cassie...You remember Cody's and my friend Max I told you all about...Well, here she is...Max, this is my beautiful girlfriend, Cassie..."
Cassie nods. "Nice to meet you...I didn't know she was a student here..."
Max responds. "I'm not. I'm actually a student at Yale. I met Bailey this morning at orientation and learned she was engaged to Cody. She took me to Cody who mentioned they were coming up to surprise you guys and asked me to come along...So, here I am."
Zack turned to her. "You're at Yale? I'm impressed..."
Max sighs and explains why she had to leave Boston. "And not knowing anyone in Philly, all I did was study and Yale accepted me..."
Zack teases her. "Well, if they let you in, maybe I should have applied too..."
Cassie stands there trying not to feel jealous. "Ummm...Bailey, can you help me with something?"
Bailey nods and Cassie almost pulls her through the bathroom to her dorm room. Cassie closes the door and turns to Bailey. "What do you two think you were doing bringing her here?"
Bailey just looked at Cassie in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"That's Max!"
"Yeah...I've learned that today..."
"Also known as Zack's first kiss!"
"Yeah, so? Cassie, that was years ago..." Bailey paused. "Haven't we had this conversation before but only in reverse?"
Cassie sighs. "That was different..."
"How so?"
"Because that was you and this is me!"
"Aren't you the same one who told me that I was being stupid and jealous when Rebecca showed up? And that I should trust in Cody? Well, you were right..."
Cassie sighs. "I did, didn't I?"
"Besides, you have nothing to worry about. In case you haven't noticed, you've changed Zack. Before you came along, I often wondered if there was any hope for him. But with you in his life, he's come a long, long way. And that's because of you..."
"So why does this bother me so much?"
Bailey smiled. "Because he's your feller. You're very protective of him. Its the same reason I went crazy for a little while."
"You're right...especially after Orlando..."
"Then trust him. And if you want, I'll make sure Cody has a talk with him."
"Don't do that. I'd be so embarrassed..."
"Alright, just promise me you won't let this drive you crazy..."
"I'll try..."
"Come on, lets head back in there and then we'll finish getting you moved in. Are Woody and Addison here yet?"
Cassie shakes here head. "No, they aren't flying in until tomorrow morning..."
Cassie and Bailey walk back in the other dorm room.
Zack turns to them. "Everything okay?"
Cassie nods. "Yeah, the zipper on one of my bags got stuck and Bailey helped me unjam it."
"Cool..." Zack turns to Cody. "Codester, can you help me get the last couple of boxes out of the car?"
Cody nods. "Yeah, sure..."
After the boys leave, Max turns back to Cassie and Bailey.
"So, you're Cassie. I've just met you, and I'm already impressed..."
Cassie looked surprised. "You are?"
Max laughs. "Of course, any girl who can tame Zack has my respect...I always wondered if he would ever settle down..."
Carey looks up. "Tell me about it..."
Cassie smiles. "Really?"
Max nods. "Yeah. Back when I was young and dumb, I had a crush on him. Thankfully I grew out of that..." She pauses. "Not to say Zack is a bad guy, he's not, he's one of my oldest friends..."
Cassie laughs. "Its okay. Zack is...well...Zack..."
Max laughs. "Exactly. I'm just afraid of what I'm going to find guy wise at Yale..."
Bailey nodded. "I know what you mean. With the exception of you, everyone in our orientation group seemed so...so..."
"Pretentious?"
"Exactly!"
Max chuckles. "I'm just glad to know there will be at least a couple of normal people around..."
Cassie laughs. "That's if you consider Cody and Bailey normal..."
Bailey turns to her cousin. "Hey!"
Cassie smiles. "I'm kidding, Cuz...You know I love you..." She turns to Max. "But, if you are going to hang around those two for any period of time, you are going to have to get used to how disgustingly sweet they are with each other..."
"That bad, huh?"
Carey looks up again. "Yup."
Bailey just stares at her future mother-in-law. Carey laughs. "I'm kidding, Bailey. I think its wonderful that you two have no problem showing each other how you feel about each other..."
Cassie smiles. "They really aren't that bad...most of the time."
Bailey sighs. "I love my feller and he loves me. I have no problem with the whole world knowing that!"
Max sighs. "At least you two have fellers...If this morning was any indication, it may take me a while to find one of my own..."
Meanwhile, Zack and Cody are gathering the last boxes and bags from the car. Zack turns to his brother.
"Was it just me or was there an ice in the air between Cassie and Max?"
Cody shrugs. "Maybe...Afterall, she does know Max was your first kiss..."
"So? That was years ago..."
"Dude, you're preaching to the choir here. I went through the exact same thing about a year ago, remember?"
"Oh yeah...When Bailey went nutso over that Rebecca girl..."
"Yeah..."
Zack sighs. "So, what should I do?"
"Just show her that she's your woman and you're her feller...Beyond that, there's not really much you can do..."
"Feller? I think Bailey is rubbing off on to you..."
Cody shrugs. "It happens..."
"Why do girls have to make big deals out of nothing?"
"You're asking me to explain women to you?"
Zack shivers. "That's a scary thought..."
Cody laughs. "You'll be fine...Just do what I do. Stop trying to understand women and concentrate on understanding your woman."
"I guess so..."
"Besides, Max will be down in New Haven with us. Its not like you're going to see her that often anyways..."
"True. It is kind of of crazy that she just reappeared like that..." Zack laughs. "I wonder who will show up next?"
To be Continued...
Author's Note: Nothing story line related, but I would pass along a twitter posting from Debby Ryan herself. "Don't give up! We're all pulling for team Cailey." Just figured the Cailey fans could use that bit of encouragement in knowing the actors are rooting for them too. In a related not, she said they were filming their last week this week.