"So you're dating London, but in secret?"
Zack and Cody stood in the school hallway near their lockers the day after his and London's "study session," and Zack leaned in to Cody after looking around. He whispered hastily, "Hey, don't say that so loud, will ya? The whole point of it being secret is not letting people find out about it."
"People will find out. This is the first time you've ever dated someone. And to think, it's London, someone who you've been friends with for a while. You know, friendship is the beginning to romance."
"Yeah, you've told me that before."
"So what are you going to do about Pamela?"
Zack leaned against his blue locker. "I'm gonna tell her the truth."
Cody patted Zack's shoulder. "Good for you, Zack, and... here's your chance."
"What?"
Cody pointed over to Pamela just down a few lockers from them. She glanced at Zack and gave him a smile. It was now or never. He walked up to her, but stopped and stared at who was walking down the hallway behind her. It was that tall guy who was with London! He was a high school student? She said that he was five years older than her!
Annoyed that this guy lied to London, Zack walked on passed Pamela and came up to the guy who stood a several inches taller than him. Whoa, he's taller than I anticipated. Nonetheless, Zack said, "Hey, man."
"Hi. Do I know you?"
"No, but you know a friend of mine. Her name's London Tipton, and she told me about a guy that she met yesterday, a guy who, very coincidentally, looks like you."
Slight alarm encumbered the guys features. "You must be mistaking me for someone different. There are a lot of guys on the ship who resemble me."
"Maybe. I think I would recognize the guy who was lip-locking my friend yesterday on the Sky Deck. I work at the smoothie counter—I see things."
The guy pursed his lips. He cleared his throat and stood tall. "Well, again, you mistook me for someone else."
Zack really needed to get somewhere with this guy. He held up his hands, feigning defeat. "Okay, fine. I was just saying that if you were that guy, I was going to tell London to pay you a thousand bucks since that's what she does when she starts dating a new guy. But, since you're insisting that you're not that guy, and you are in high school, not five years older than she is, then... oh well. Just wanted to do you a favor, man."
Zack walked on passed him, and he only took two steps before the guy said, "Wait, hold on a second." Zack smirked. He turned around. "Okay, maybe I was that guy. London said that she likes older guys, so I told her that I was five years older than her."
"London said she likes older guys?" No, he needed to be serious. "Is that so? Well, I guess I'll go tell London that she owes ya. That is, if you're serious about her."
"Oh, yeah. She's beautiful, she's rich... what else matters, right?"
Zack creased his brows. Sure, London was rich and beautiful, but there was a lot more about her that made her appealing. "So, the only thing going for is the fact that she's rich and beautiful?"
"Yeah. She's as dumb as a post, which makes a relationship far easier."
"As dumb as a post, huh?" Zack repeated, agitation pinching his chest.
"Yeah. I mean, you know her, so you know that she doesn't even know how to spell her last name. Heck, she had to stop and try to remember it when I asked what her name was. Who doesn't remember their own last name? I mean, that's just sad."
Anger pulsed through Zack, and before he could stop himself, Zack pushed the guy into the nearest trash can, which brought on the attention of everyone in the hallway. Cody ran up to the scene.
"Zack! What are you doing?!"
"Trying to teach this sleaze not to go bad-mouthing one of my best friends." He came up close to the guy and said to him, "London may be what you said, but she is much more than that. She's funny, adorable, and a great friend. You just try to start a relationship with her. If you do, you'll find yourself traveling to the nearest island in a bucket."
He stalked away from him but stopped when he came up to Pamela. Her mouth was open in shock. "Oh my gosh," she gushed. "Zack, that was amazing! It was so sweet of you to defend your friend like that."
"Yeah, well, when people say horrible stuff about the people I care about, they have something coming to 'em."
She stood up close to him and gave him a smile. "That's a really admirable quality."
He saw that look in her eyes, and he knew he had to explain. "Pamela, look... you're a great girl, and your beautiful, but... what happened yesterday, I was just trying to make another girl jealous."
Hurt appeared in her features. "Oh..."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have used you like that."
She nodded. "Well, I guess I thought it was too good to be true, the guy I've been crushing on starting to like me."
Zack felt that male pride shoot up at finding out that she indeed had a crush on him, but still, he felt badly. "Hey, there are plenty of other guys out there, guys who are a heck of a lot better than me." He looked off that the guy still in the trash can and saw that a blonde guy was trying to pull him out of it. "Just stay away from that guy."
"Will do. So... I guess I'll see you in class."
"Yeah, see you."
She walked on and Zack stood there, watching after her. Of course, when he and London started something, he found out that another hot girl liked him. Oh well.
"Hey, I think you sprained that guy's pelvic bone."
Zack turned around and found Cody there. "He deserved it."
"He did, but... let's just say it's a good thing a teacher wasn't around. You would be in detention until next year."
Zack folded his arms. "London's worth it. And I think I did pretty well in masking our relationship. It's gonna stay a secret at this rate."
Cody looked behind Zack. "Tell that to London."
"What?"
Zack turned and saw what Cody was pointing at. London came walking into the hallway, wearing a shimmery and stylish white "I Love Zack" T-shirt, but the "Love" part was a large red heart. People gaped at her and pointed and whispered. Alarm pulsed through Zack, and he went up to her and dragged her down the hallway and around a corner.
"Hi, Zackie!" she greeted him cheerfully. "Have you seen my shirt?"
"Yeah, I did. And I'm flattered that you're so into me and all, but we agreed that we would keep our relationship a secret, remember? Honey?"
She smiled, and he physically felt his limbs weaken at the sight. That never happened before with any girl he was interested in. "I am, silly. I haven't said a word of it to anyone, just like we agreed yesterday."
"But you're basically saying it with your shirt, even if you're not physically saying anything with your mouth."
She paused for a second, thinking. She nodded. "I guess you have a point, but don't you want people to know that you're dating the rich and fabulous me?"
She made a pose, and he smirked at how cute it was. She had a point, too. Why keep the fact that he was dating London Tipton a secret? Her dad owned the boat, the hotel he once lived in, several other hotels and boats and maybe even countries, and she was filthy rich. People would treat him like a king, but what would happen when her dad found out about him and London, knowing how much he disliked him and Cody?
"Um..." Zack started, a but conflicted, "believe me, London, I want to tell everyone, but... I'm just worried about what your dad will think."
"Daddy? Why would he care?"
"Because I'm one of the troublemakers that nearly destroyed his hotel and almost sunk his ship with an anchor that I broke. You remember that."
She slapped his arm playfully. "Well, obviously you didn't sink the ship, so he would be fine with you dating me."
He shouldn't explain farther, knowing that London would contradict everything he said, whether she knew she was or not. "Okay, but let's just not tell anyone else, okay?"
"It's too late for that. Everyone knows already."
Zack looked around and saw that most of the kids in the hallway were looking at them. Well, the cat was out of the bag, and it wasn't even in there for that long.
~ ~ ~
"Zack, you're dating London Tipton?"
"How'd you manage that?"
"Do you guys go on dates to Paris and Milan?"
"Has she given you your own jet?"
Kids hovered around him the next day at school in history class, the first class of the day, hammering him with questions. Thankfully, London hadn't arrived yet. "Okay, okay, one at a time," he said, silencing everyone, but then they continued firing questions at him. He heard Woody say, "Wow, she must have lowered her standards drastically if she was willing to date you."
Zack gave his new friend a sarcastic look. "Thanks, man, but..." He popped his black t-shirt collar. "She just couldn't resist the good looks and charm that is 'The Zack'."
"Yeah, and you couldn't resist her money," said some random guy who Zack never met before. The other kids agreed. It shocked Zack that when he realized he had feelings for London, at times, he forgot that she was filthy rich. Sure, they went out on a shopping spree and Zack had a new wardrobe, an expensive one, but the majority of the time, he forgot that she was rich, and he just liked spending time with her. It was shocking, considering Zack loved money.
"Look, I don't care that she's rich," he defended to his classmates, but he knew that was only half a lie.
"Yeah, right," said Woody. The guy knew Zack too well.
"There's more to London than just her money, you know," Zack countered.
At that exact moment, London walked into the classroom holding a wad of cash in her hands and looked as if she was counting it. Thankfully, she changed out of the "I Love Zack" shirt. Everyone stared at her when she walked in, and she noticed.
"Hi everyone! Here's little me, with a lot of money!" She spotted Zack. "Oh, and there's my honey!"
"Hey, sweet thang," he said back, giving her the finger points and a wink. Might as well—people know about them being an item.
"So... there's more to London Tipton than money, huh?" Addison asked, and Zack pursed his lips as London still handled all that money as she sat in her seat. "You're so dating her for her money."
London looked back at the group, her brows creased. She heard that. She put her money away and turned back to the front. Zack's chest pricked in irritation, and before he could go and explain, Ms. Tutwiler came into the room and started the class. He didn't pay attention at all during the class, which wasn't out of the ordinary for him, but he wasn't paying attention for a different reason this time. He sensed that London was hurt.
Class ended, and Zack stopped London outside of the classroom. "Hey, London, look, what everyone said before class about me dating you for your money, it's not true."
She shrugged. "I wouldn't blame you if you were. I am rich."
"Yeah, but, well... I admit that it's a perk, and I love my new wardrobe, but like I said in there, there's more to you than your money."
"Duh, I know there is. I'm gorgeous, and I'm a good kisser."
He couldn't argue with that! "Yeah, you are, but I mean other than those things."
She stared at him for a moment, and he guessed that she really couldn't think of anything else about herself that was appealing. He should just tell her. "London, you're adorable. And I mean the little things you do, like the 'Yay me's' and your..." How could he phrase dim-wittedness kindly? "The fact that you're pretty clueless about things... It's all really cute."
She thought a moment. "So... you like me not for my money and looks, but for the other things about me that make me... me?"
She actually understood! "Yeah, exactly. And being rich and beautiful are great perks, too, like I said."
"Aww!" she gushed with a wide smile and took him by the shoulders and planted a kiss right on his mouth. Kids around definitely saw and gasped, and Cody stared opened-mouthed at his twin brother kissing a girl they knew for years. London leaned back and Zack was slightly stunned at the sudden contact of her lips on his. London said, "Well, I like you in the same way. I don't care that you're poor and almost destroyed Daddy's hotel and his ship."
Zack didn't know what to say, so he just smirked and nodded. London pulled him into a hug. "Bye, sweetie!"
She was off and Zack stood there and barely noticed the kids standing around him, asking him more questions. He stared after London, not believing that he found a girl that he didn't just want to aimlessly flirt with like he had done countless times before. He was serious this time, which startled him, and it was kind of scary.
Was he actually... falling in love with her?