Okay, so this is not my best work, like, at all, but I just kind of noticed a lot of Zashley stories popping up and felt we needed a Zanessa somewhere in there. So here one is!
She ran through the park, the cold Salt Lake City wind rushing past her sides and engulfing her in an ocean of freezing breezes and gusts. The trees and the dark sky blended together to form a blur of dark color, the blur becoming fuzzier through her tears. She pulled her light Juicy zip up tighter around her freezing body as she ran, sobbing.
Eventually once she figured she was far enough away, she slowed to a halt, wiping her tear stricken face from the wet remnants. Sniffling, but her face determined, she looked around the large park and found a swing set with three swings blowing slightly in the light wind.
She trudged over to the swings, her bare feet freezing beneath her. The sand on the ground was soon the home for her cold feet and she buried them in the soft but cool contents. As she sat down on the swing, she gently moved her body back and forth, the swinging going with her as her feet staid, covered in sand to be kept warm.
Holding back tears, she began to sing quietly to herself, "We're soaring, flying, there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach." She continued as thoughts ran through her mind.
Back at the Hotel
"Zac!" Ashley shot Zac a dirty glance and slapped him upside the head. "How could you be such a jerk?" she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Hey," he put his hands up in defense, "I did not think she could be so touch-."
"Woah," Ashley put her hand up in front of his face. "Touchy? Oh good gawd, since when did you become so mean?" Still glaring, she turned and shut her room door, before once again turning and putting her arms across her chest.
"I'm not being me-."
He was cut off again, "Yes you are. And don't deny it. Ever since Ness began going out with Nate, you've been all-."
It was Zac's turn to cut the blonde off, "See that's just it!" he sat down on the hotel bed, sighing, "I guess it just hurts."
Ashley, now slightly upset, sat down beside him, "What hurts?"
"Everything," Zac sighed again, "I guess I used to think she, well, um…"
"Liked you…loved you…as more than friends," Ashley smirked as she finished his train of thought.
Zac widened his eyes, "How did you-?"
"Well, um, it's kind of obvious."
Zac nodded, "I see. Well, um, and then when she started going out with him, I guess I was just, um, mad…angry, crushed. I felt like I didn't have a chance. And I guess now I don't more than ever." He looked down at his hands.
"Zac, you know that's not true. I mean, you can still clear things up…," she looked at him, and she could see a very not-reassured look on his face. "Listen," she turned to him, "Can I let you in on a little secret?" She grinned.
"Um, yeah?"
"Van…she, um. Oh gawd, she's gonna hate me…you see…she…"
"Just spit it out, Ash."
"Ok, well, she-told-me-that-she-doesn't-really-love-Nate."
"Um, huh?" Zac raised an eyebrow at his friend.
Ashley leaned back on the bed, placing her elbows so they supported her, "Okay, well, what she told me was that she doesn't think she loves Nate anymore. She told me that she used to be head over heels for that kid. You know that she met him about a month before we started filming, right?"
Zac nodded, his face emotionless.
Ashley could see the hurt in his eyes. With them having been filming the sequel for about a month which left Vanessa and Nate being a couple for about two months, and through the entire time Zac had been being a mean jerk. She continued, "Well, on the first day here, when we all met him, Nessa told me she thought she might be in love…but she didn't say to whom."
Zac's head shot up, "Wait, what?"
Ashley ignored him and kept going with her little speech, her attention not on her friend but more on trying to scrounge up more information to tell him, "I naturally thought it was Nate, and I told her I was happy for her…you know, I kind of had to…" she had seen the look of disgust cross Zac's face once again, and she shrugged sadly, "But then, about a week ago, when Nate visited, she kind of told me…"
There was a long pause.
"God Ashley, would you just tell me?"
Ashley frowned, "Okayyyy…well, she kind of told me that she thought she didn't love Nate…So I naturally thought it was just a weird spot in the relationship…but then…I got this feeling that maybe…Okay, so I'll just tell you that when Nate would call, she'd tell me to tell him she wasn't available."
Zac nodded, biting his lip and waiting for more.
"Its been like that for about two weeks. And Zac…well, you've been making it awful for her. Today she just broke. I mean, she just heard her best friend call her slut! Gawd…if that had happened to me, you' be dead right now." Ashley rolled her eyes and stood up.
Closing his eyes, Zac spoke up, "Listen, I know I shouldn't have said that…"
"Zac, you shouldn't have done anything or said anything that you have in the last month!" Ashley reached for her coat.
"Where are you going?" Zac stood as well.
"Going to find her. If you're not, then I guess I am." She began to walk towards the door, but then stopped and looked over her shoulder. "You know, before she and Nate were together, she told me that every night, she'd wish for you on every star. I told her she was lovesick. I told her to go get you. I bet she's glad she never did…Gawd Zac…you've hurt her. And the worst part is, you just hurt the girl you love…who also loves you back."
Zac looked down, and he shoved his hands into his pockets, "Stop." Immediately he shoved past her, grabbing his coat and pushing Ashley to the side. He hurried out the door with one swift motion, his mind set ahead of him.
Back in the Park
Vanessa hugged her hoodie closer to her. "If we're trying, so we're breaking free." She kept singing as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She hadn't even had the chance to tell Ashley, and more importantly, Zac, about how she and Nate had called it quits before he had called her that. Biting her lip, she paused and took a deep breath before continuing to sing, "Creating space between us, 'till we're separate hearts." She couldn't sing anymore, and she broke down in a fit of tears, the gently drops rolling off of her tanned cheeks.
"Don't stop," his voice was soft in the cold night, and he stepped out from behind a cluster of evergreen trees.
Vanessa just rolled her eyes at him and turned the other way. But she could feel him coming closer, and her breath caught in her throat.
Zac sat down on the swing beside her, "Listen, Nessa, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I've been a real jerk for the past month and…I really am sorry."
Vanessa didn't speak.
"Today I went way too far. But, I've got to confess, I've been acting this way because, I've been…well…I've been jealous."
"Oh, is it because you're jealous that I'm such a slut?" she emphasized the word he had called her, glaring at him from a few feet away.
"Ness, I'm sooooo sorry…"
"Zac, don't even. I expected so much more from a guy like you. To think, I broke up with my boyfriend-."
"Wait a minute, you broke up with Nate?" Zac stared Vanessa directly in the eye, and for the first time truly saw the mixed emotions behind the pools of chocolate: her eyes were beyond hurt, and yearning to be loved. It made him want to pull her close, and keep her there until the emotions melted away.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. And you know why I did it? Because I thought, maybe I was in love…and not with him…" she looked down at the ground, swinging gently. "But I guess I was wrong."
Zac closed his eyes, hating himself. Hating himself for being such a jerk, hating himself for ruining the chances he had with the only girl he had ever loved. But he wasn't going to give up now, "Vanessa, um, I know how much I've hurt you. And I hate myself for it. Everything that I've said in the last month has been out of jealousy, because, well, I was mad I wasn't Nate."
Vanessa looked up at him.
"When I first met you, I didn't expect any of this. I didn't expect to be here, jealous of your boyfriend, I mean, ex-boyfriend," he cracked a grin, but Vanessa didn't react. He sighed, "I didn't expect to be ranting on about how…how I think that I've…no, how I know that I've…I've fallen in love with you."
Vanessa couldn't take it anymore. Biting her lip to hold back the tears, she finally spoke, "Zac, I-um, I know that you're sorry, but what you said really hurt-Aw, screw this." She stood up, smiling slightly through her tears, "My mind keeps telling me to hate you…but I just can't anymore. I guess it's just really hard to try and hate someone you love…a lot…" she grinned and moved closer to him. "I love you Zac."
Zac smiled widely, barely able to cope with the fact that this was finally happening, "I, um, I love you too…and I, I always have." And then on impulse he stood up and reached for her, placing his hands behind her head and his lips on hers. She smiled through the kiss.
Back at the Hotel
"They sure have been gone for a while," Corbin pointed out as he threw two poker chips into the pile.
"Ah, but that's a good sign," Ashley grinned from behind her hand of cards.
"You think they're kissing yet?" Lucas asked, biting his lip as he looked at his cards.
Ashley laid her Royal Flush down and smiled widely as Monique, Corbin, and Lucas tossed their hands down in despair, "I know they are."