A/N: This is the last chapter of Mismatched. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Thanks, as always, to my faithful readers and reviewers. I would love to hear your final thoughts on the story, so please don't forget to review!

In the lunchroom Friday afternoon, Maya was only vaguely surprised to see Bailey sitting next to Woody at their usual lunch table. She set her tray down directly across from them and Bailey immediately leaned in to the center of the table, an expectant look on her face. "Well...?"

Maya couldn't hide a smile. "Well what?" she said, knowing perfectly well what Bailey wanted to know.

Bailey gave the table a smack with her palm. "Well, how'd it go with Zack after you guys left last night?" she asked excitedly.

Maya raised an eyebrow coyly. "I could ask the same thing about you and Cody."

Bailey blushed. "I asked you first." she countered.

"Yeah, come on, girl, spill!" Woody insisted. "We want to hear all the juicy details."

Maya was startled and slightly creeped out by Woody's sudden segue into girl talk, but Bailey didn't seem to be surprised by his behavior, so Maya broke into a grin and leaned in as well. "It was really great. Zack was so sweet, and we just had fun together. No strings, no pressure, you know what I mean?"

"Aww..." Bailey cooed.

"We went to the arcade-"

"See, what did I tell you?" Woody said triumphantly. "More romantic than you'd think, right?"

"It actually was." Maya agreed. "And then we talked for a while and he walked me back to my cabin."

"Did he try to kiss you?" Woody wanted to know.

"Yeah!" Bailey bit her lip in anticipation.

Maya brushed her hair behind her ear. "Sort of. I mean, he seemed like he was going for it and I shot him down... but then-" she smiled. "He was being so nice about it... I couldn't help it. I kissed him." she confessed.

Bailey and Woody looked at each other gleefully. "Oh. My. Gosh." Woody said.

"What was it like?" Bailey asked.

Maya flushed pink. "It was just a peck... but... I mean, for a peck? It was... good." She shared a glance with Bailey that told her the other girl knew exactly what she meant.

Woody shook his head. "Still. An actual kiss on the first date. Zack's going to be impossible to live with now."

Bailey shook her head thoughtfully. "Somehow, I don't think so." she disagreed, smiling at Maya knowingly.

Maya cleared her throat. "Back to my question," she said, changing the subject. "What did you and Cody do after we left you guys last night?" she winked. "Just give us the PG rated version."

"Maya!" This time Bailey blushed to the roots of her hair. "We kept it totally PG." she paused. "Well, maybe PG-13."

Woody nodded. "All I know is, when I woke up this morning, I saw that Cody had left his socks on the floor... and left the cap off the toothpaste!" At Maya's confused look, he explained. "When Cody's unhappy, he is ridiculously anal about cleaning. For him to do those things..."

"He must have been ecstatic?" Maya guessed, half-mocking, but Bailey ducked her head modestly, nodding.

"We talked things over, and we both apologized, and we realized that you and Zack were right, Cody and I weren't over each other, and we deserved to give ourselves a second chance." Bailey explained.

"So you're officially a couple again?" Woody asked, and Bailey nodded happily.

"You know, I could have guessed that from the way you two were attached at the tongue." Maya said dryly, and they all giggled.

Zack caught up with his brother on the way out of the lunch line. They fell into step beside each other easily as they headed for the table.

"How'd it go with Maya last night?" Cody asked.

"Great." Zack answered. "So you and Bailey are back together?"

"Yep."

Just as they arrived at the table where Bailey, Maya, and Woody were sitting, all conversation and laughter stopped suddenly, and the twins shared a bemused look.

"Whatever they were saying about us, I hope it was good." Cody shrugged, setting his tray next to Bailey's. The three already sitting grinned guiltily.

Bailey looped an arm through Cody's and brushed a kiss across his cheek. "Don't worry, it was." she assured him. He sent her a smile that was only for her, and, looking into his eyes, she returned it in kind.

Zack sat down next to Maya. "It's going to be weird for us, having girlfriends who are, y'know, friends with each other." he remarked to Cody.

Beside him, Maya stilled. "Girlfriends?"

Zack's eyes widened as he realized his slip. "Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean- I mean, if you don't-" he stumbled.

Maya bit back a smile. "I... don't hate the sound of it." she admitted.

Zack breathed out an astonished puff of air. "Really?" he smiled. Then he coughed, clearing his throat. "Oddly enough, I don't hate the sound of it either." he joked, but when he looked at Maya his gaze was serious.

"We can talk about it on our next date." Maya suggested.

Zack grinned warmly at her. "Can't wait." he said in a low voice. Then he pointed between her and Bailey. "But just remember... this talking-about-our-dates awkward-information-sharing thing can go both ways, right, Codes?"

The girls and Woody burst out laughing. "Come on, Zack, guys don't talk." Bailey managed through her giggles.

Both twins flashed back to the two-sentence conversation they'd just had about their dates and raised their eyebrows, sporting matching frowns.

"Huh." Cody said.

"Yeah." Zack shrugged. "They might be right."

Maya clapped loudly as the curtain fell, ending the magic show. "Armando really was amazing." she grinned at Zack. The lights dimmed to their usual level and the couples around them returned to their meals. She was glad Zack had chosen this restaurant for their date. The food was delicious, the show was entertaining, and the atmosphere was very cozy and romantic.

Zack laughed. "Yeah... you should have been here the night London found out that the magic wasn't real."

Maya schooled her face into an expression of shock and innocence. "What? There's no such thing as magic?" she pouted.

Zack reached over and took her hand. "I didn't say that..." he said softly, looking into her eyes.

Maya rolled her eyes. "You are so cheesy. I'm afraid to even ask how many girls that line has worked on."

"So far, none." he confessed. "Although I'm keeping my fingers crossed for number one."

"That's right, keep 'em crossed." Maya said. "I'm not a sure thing, you know." At Zack's hurt expression, she added, "Not until you ask me to be your girlfriend properly."

"Oh." Zack smiled. She expected him to take the hint and ask her then and there, but he only sat back in his seat. "I'll keep that in mind."

Maya almost laughed. He was teasing her! "You do that." she said dryly, picking up her fork and eating the last of her fettuccine alfredo.

They finished eating and Zack took the check. "While we're having our doing-clichéd-cruise-ship-activities date, do you want to hit the bowling alley or anything like that?" he asked as they left the restaurant.

Maya noticed the way he casually took her hand as they walked, but didn't say anything, instead enjoying the pleasant sensation his touch gave her. "Well, after the smoothies, the Seven Seas mini-golf and the magic show, I think I'm good." she declined, instead asking hopefully, "Is a walk in the moonlight a clichéd cruise activity?"

"Yes." Zack answered with a grin. "Hopelessly clichéd. Everyone on the boat will be doing it."

Maya pushed open the door to the nearest deck. "Perfect. Hopefully we'll be able to find room to walk, with all those people around." They took a few steps onto the Lido Deck, which was nearly empty. A few other people milled around on the other half of the deck, but it was mostly quiet, the only sounds the streams of water flowing from the abandoned waterslide and the peaceful waves in the closed swimming pool. "Hmm." she said. "Looks like we were wrong."

"That's a first." Zack said, pretending to be puzzled.

"I know. Weird." Maya agreed with a laugh. Hand-in-hand, they wandered towards the rail. "I can't believe how dark the ocean gets at night." she mused, staring out at the miles and miles of black sky and the even blacker ocean that surrounded them.

"I know, kinda makes you feel like we're all alone, doesn't it." Zack agreed, coming up beside her.

Maya looked back at the doors, through which the last of their fellow passengers were leaving. "We are all alone." she said with a little smile.

"Maybe that's because it's past curfew." Zack said, slipping an arm around her waist and drawing closer to her.

Maya felt a thrill shoot through her veins. He was going to kiss her, and she wanted him to. "Curfew who?" she murmured, tilting her face up towards his.

She didn't see Zack's grin because she was too busy looking into his blue eyes as he drew closer and closer. Her lashes flickered, but just before they shut she heard a door slam on the other side of the deck. Zack looked away, breaking the spell. "Moseby!" he hissed. "Come on!"

He seized Maya's hand and yanked her away from the source of the sound. "What?" Maya asked, confused and disoriented.

Zack dragged her behind the Tiki Bar, pulling them both into a crouch under the tropical-themed cabana. "Moseby and Kirby always do a walk-through of the main decks after curfew, to check for students." he explained in a whisper. "I can't believe I forgot! ...You do strange things to me, Maya."

Maya felt her face heating up. "Oh please."

"And his timing couldn't be worse." Zack complained.

"Oh? Why is that?" Maya asked coyly, keeping her voice low.

Zack looked into her eyes again, and Maya felt her breath catch despite herself. "Because I was just about to do this." he said. He slipped his arm back around her waist, using his other hand to cup her cheek, and brought his mouth to hers.

"Mm!" Maya made a soft, short-lived moan of pleasure and surprise. Slowly, she let herself relax into the kiss, let her eyes drift shut, allowing herself to just feel. The kiss was tender, but there was heat to it, the rush of a pent-up longing released... but at the same time, the feeling that this was nowhere near enough. She ran her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders briefly, before locking her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

Somewhere, in some level of her brain, she heard footsteps approaching their hiding-place. Internally warring between looking for a way out and letting Zack continue to kiss her, consequences be damned, Maya reluctantly decided on the former.

Zack had apparently heard it too, because he pulled away, his breathing just as harsh and ragged as hers. "He's coming over here." he said in the barest of whispers.

"I know." Maya breathed. They pressed themselves up against the back of the bar as far as they could, but the footsteps continued to approach.

"Maya." Zack's hand was still wrapped around her own. "We're about to get caught, probably sent to detention, and possibly thrown in the brig. I just need to know one thing." The footsteps stopped less than a foot away. "Willyoubemygirlfriend?" he finished in a rush, his blue eyes surveying her face with a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

Maya couldn't contain a wide grin. She nodded, and watched as a grin of his own spread over his features. He'd never looked handsomer. Or happier.

Then Mr. Moseby's face appeared just a few feet from their own. "A-ha. I thought I saw someone sneak back here. Get up. Up." He folded his arms, looking at them disapprovingly as they stood, dusting themselves off. "Zack..." Mr. Moseby sighed. "I'm not even going to pretend to be surprised. But Maya... I'm disappointed in you."

A blush spread across her cheeks. "Sorry, Mr. Moseby."

"A week's worth of detention for both of you." Moseby declared sternly. "And, Zack, you're coming with me. Maya, I trust you can find your way back to your cabin unaccompanied?"

"Yes, sir." Maya said. Despite the punishment she'd just received, she couldn't erase the smile completely from her face. What could she say? Worth it.

If Moseby noticed her good mood, he didn't comment, instead taking Zack by the upper arm and leading him toward the doors. "Let's go, hooligan." Zack obeyed, but twisted around at the last second to shoot Maya a wink that made her heart flip-flop. Impulsively, she blew him a kiss, quickly pretending to be scratching her neck when Moseby turned around and saw her. "Good-night, Maya." Mr. Moseby said deliberately, reminding her that she should be leaving as well.

She turned away, towards the deck with the girls' cabins, a ridiculously girly spring in her step. "Yes, Mr. Moseby," she smiled under her breath. "It is."