I just realized I haven't updated in nearly a month. WAAAH. Sorry, guys! Seriously, thanks for ALL of the awesome reviews. 136! Woow! I never knew I'd get this many!

. . .

And since I'm so greedy, Imma ask for more.

I honestly hoped that this entire story - once I've finished it, of course - would get 50 reviews, if I was incredibly lucky. Thank you ALL so much and keep it up!

Disclaimer: Don't own, blah blah blah

Zack looked at himself in the mirror one more time, absentmindedly straightening his tie. Yes, that's right – Zack Martin was wearing a tie. He also donned a black suit and dress pants to complement it.

He gave a nervous sigh, reaching from the comb (borrowed from Cody, of course) on the dresser and giving his blond hair another couple quick brushes. He hoped the hair gel he used would help his hair stay down.

As he put on some cologne and shined his shoes one last time, his thoughts drifted toward Maya, though they hadn't strayed far from her the entire day. Zack started dreaming about how exceptionally beautiful his girlfriend would look.

Maya will soon be slow dancing with me. . .
The very thought of it made him lightheaded with excitement. He straightened his tie yet again and stepped out the door.

Maya fingered her dress nervously. It was a floor-length, light green gown that was incredibly comfortable and not revealing in any way, yet still complimenting her slim, beautiful figure nicely.

She smiled inwardly as she checked her hair in the mirror. It was tied into a wavy ponytail, with two stray curls of caramel-colored hair brushing the side of her face. Maya also happened to be wearing the necklace that Zack had gifted her.

"Oh my god, Maya, you look gorgeous!" Bailey gushed, wearing a long red dress.

"You're fabulous!" Addison squealed, and Maya complimented her on her pretty sunshine-yellow gown.

"Thanks guys," Maya said happily. "Bailey, you go find Cody, and Addison, you go find Woody! I'll meet you there."

"Go and make Zack faint," Bailey said devilishly, winking at her. Maya rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless, walking over to the cabin.

She knocked on the door slowly, and immediately, Zack opened it.

"How's my pretty girlfriend?" he chuckled, and Maya blushed. Zack looked . . . well, hot, to put it bluntly.

"C'mon, let's go to prom," he continued, offering his arm in a gentlemanly way. Maya giggled in a girly way and took it, walking with him to prom.

They met up with Addison and Bailey along the way, with the former girl chatting away about pretty dresses and necklaces.

The prom, to put it simply, was amazing, courtesy of London and Marcus's abundant wealth of money. Silk streamers and balloons were everywhere. There wasn't a band present because London wanted to hire the My Little Pony music composers. However, to mitigate this problem, Maya had put her iPod playlist on shuffle and gave it generously to use for just one night at the prom.

For basically the first half, it was all fun and games – no romantic, slow dances involved. Bailey snuck up behind Cody and popped a balloon in his face, laughing hysterically when he screamed like a little girl and complained, "You know I have sensitive eardrums!"

And she shut him up by kissing him forcefully in front of the entire grade.

Cody was beet red when his Kettlecorn girlfriend finally pulled away, and for once, he was absolutely, undeniably speechless.

"Th-that was – " he spluttered incoherently.

"Aw, c'mon, Codes!" Zack yelled. "Pretty girl kisses you and that's your reaction?! No wonder you can't get laid – "

And to shut him up, Maya kissed him.

Zack's head was floating in clouds and he was ecstatically dizzy by the time she pulled away. "Woooow," he said dreamily, blue eyes unfocused.

"Hey, lovebird!" Bailey yelled, punching him. "Snap out of it."

Zack recovered quickly, offering Maya a bright smile before saying, "Tell that to your own boyfriend, Miss Farm Girl." His statement was strangely accurate – Cody was still a mess over by the corner. Apparently, kisses had a big effect on him.

Finally, the DJ – who happened to be Mr. Moseby – announced, "Grab a boy or a girl next to you and sweep them off their feet! Heeeeeeere comes a slow dance!"

A beautiful song began to float out of the speakers and Zack gave Maya a smile – not his usual cheeky grin, but a smile that made Maya nearly faint. "Care to dance?"

"Y-yeah, okay, sure!" she squeaked breathlessly as Zack took her hand.

They started dancing, Maya's hands locked around Zack's neck and his hands on her hips.

"So let's talk," he chuckled affectionately, watching with mirth as Maya blushed scarlet.

"About what?" she murmured softly.

"Memories," he said off-handedly. "Hey, remember when I first hit on you?"

"How could I forget?" she said, laughing softly.

"Aww, don't deny it, Maya-kitten," he said, grinning. "You were adorable while listing off smoothie drinks."

"Whatever," she denied quickly, but then thought better of it and added, "In your defense though, I've never seen any guy look that good in knee socks and an apron."

"Why, thank you!" he said, tossing his hair back flirtatiously. "Oh, and remember? Later that day, I tried again and you said that your dream was dancing with a giant rabbit while Lady Gaga played the spoons."

"That was just to throw you off!" she replied, pretending to be indignant.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say," he sing-songed, avoiding her gaze. "And remember the submarine?"

Maya stayed quiet for a moment, and Zack was about to think that she didn't hear him when she offered him a smile. "Kraken!"

"Kraken!" he replied increduously, and they both shared a laugh.

After a moment, Zack cleared his throat awkwardly. "You know it is pronounced 'kraken', right?"

"What? No, I told you already, it's kraken!" she shot back.

"Kraken."

"Kraken."

"Kraken."

"Krak – mmph!"

Zack had kissed her again. Maya was hesitant, but then melted into the kiss, listening to the lilting music filter through her ears and the gentle rocking of Zack swaying back and forth . . .

"Mm," Zack sighed. "I love you, Maya."

"I l – " Maya began, but then her eyes widened. "Whoa whoa whoa!"

Zack blinked. "What?"

"Did you just say - ?" she queried, and Zack seemed to realize.

"Ah!" he quickly denied trying to correct himself! "S-sorry! It was just – um, the heat of the moment, and I was caught up in the dancing, and it just sort of slipped out –

"Shh," Maya said gently, placing a finger on his lips and smiling softly. "You talk too much."

"Wha?" he said eloquently.

"I love you too, Zack."

Needless to say, that was the best night ever – no soup involved.

Remember the soup joke in the last chapter? :3

. . . no?

Aww.

Yes, I know, short chappie - REALLY short, the more I look at it - and I can't say that I'm real proud of it, but please leave a review! Pweez?