Haley Dailey [Suite Life]

Chapter 8 - Putting the Plan into Action

Operation "Make Haley Believe that Chris is a Lying Jerk" was in operation. Zack watched as the two so-called lovebirds sat with each other at one of the tables on the Sky Deck, a table in direct view of the smoothie counter again, just talking. Chris was on the clock, but he took a break when Haley showed up. School just ended, so the deck was beginning to flood with teens. Chris leaned in and planted a kiss on Haley's cheek and she smiled. She looked down at her lap sheepishly, and at that moment, Chris made a disgusted face again, but Haley didn't see it. Zack shook his head as he gripped the knife he was holding as he chopped up a kiwi.

"Ow!" he exclaimed and noticed that he sliced his finger. He quickly found a towel and covered it and got out the first-aid kit. As he was taking care of his bloody finger, he still watched the two. Chris told Haley that he had to get back to work and kissed her on the mouth before he stood up. It shocked Zack that, in that one second, he wished he was Chris.

"Hey, what happened to you?" Chris asked when he came behind the counter.

"Cut myself. What does it look like?"

Zack's voice came out edgy, and Chris held up his hands. "Whoa, I was just asking. Why the bad mood? You hit on a girl and she rejected you?"

Zack let out an irritated breath as Chris got busy making a customer's smoothie by chopping up some bananas. "No. I just found out that one of my good friends is being played and cheated on by her new boyfriend."

Chris stopped chopping and looked at over at him. Zack finished bandaging his finger and turned to face Chris, giving him a mean look. Chris cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable. "Really? Poor girl."

"Yeah, poor girl," he mocked.

The two guys stared hard at one another. Zack stepped up to him, not hiding the anger in his voice. "Listen, pal, you need tell Haley the truth, or..."

Chris gave him a challenging look and cut him off. "Or what? She didn't believe you the first two times you tried to tell her. Yeah, I knew the friend she was talking about was you. She'll never believe you, and I'll never tell her."

Zack really wanted to punch that smug look off his face. "It really sickens me that I have to work with you. I thought you were a decent guy."

Chris did not seem phased at Zack's insult. "I am. What guy doesn't want to make a girl happy? You know, I'm making two girls happy—my hot, college girlfriend, and my butt-ugly, schoolgirl girlfriend."

Something strong and a bit scary shot through Zack's system, and he about went at Chris, but more people came up to the counter and ordered smoothies. Zack had to stop himself and he hated that he had to do so. He got to work, also hating that smug look that was still on Chris's face.

He would find some way to make Haley believe him. But how? He should find that girlfriend of his. He would be able to spot her out of a crowd since she was, admittedly, really hot. He looked around the Sky Deck, but the hot brunette was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he would follow Chris after his shift was over, and he would bring Haley with him. Well, after he apologized again for calling her hideous.

The evening went on, and soon, the sky became dark. Chris got off his shift, but Zack still had two hours left of his. How would he pull his plan off? He spotted Steve, who was working the tables. He went up to him. "Hey, Steve, could you cover me for like twenty minutes? My mom just texted me and said she really needs to talk to me about something. I think it's a family emergency."

Steve's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, I hope it's not serious. Does Cody know?"

"Yeah, he does. Don't worry about telling him."