Well, the Oscars spoke to me. :D Okay, at least the Oscar V-F after-party spoke to me, quite loudly! ha ha! So, Scenarios: Everyday is the beginning of an ongoing story about Z & V and the various adventures they get into. These stories may be one-or two-shots but instead of making new stories each time I'm just going to keep them gathered in this particular place.
If something really, really, really awesome happens in their lives, it'll be its own Scenario. And if you see or hear anything about them, PLEASE let me know. I'm sooo addicted, and your notes & PM's & e-mails just feed my addiction. Please keep'em coming!
As always, I don't own anything related to Z & V except lots of magazines, dvd's, cd's and trinkets. I also don't own anything related to the designers and various brand names that might be mentioned in this story.
KTZLF! Enough Said. -adc
"There is a reason I'm not ready for children." Vanessa rolled her eyes but grinned as she turned her iPhone toward her younger sister to let Stella read the text message on the screen.
"Please Ness? I know you'll meet me for the after-party but please won't you go to the actual awards ceremony with me? Please?" glowed from the screen.
Vanessa and Stella were sitting in the living room of the Hudgens' home, just minutes away from Zac's house. Vanessa had decided as soon as they returned from Australia that she would dress at her parents' house and have a limo pick her up there to meet her boyfriend after the Academy Awards. That way, hopefully, they could avoid some of the paparazzi at either of their homes and Zac could walk the initial red carpet without being stopped a hundred times.
The phone beeped again. "I can have the car stop and pick you up it's still an hour or so before I'm scheduled to leave. Just come with me, please?"
Stella laughed. "How do you not give in to that? I can see him pouting right now."
"How do Mom and Dad not give in to you when you ask for something? They've built up a resistance, not to mention sometimes they just ignore you." She smirked and laughed when her fourteen year old sister smacked her on the arm. "Besides," Vanessa turned her head away from Stella and grinned a particularly devious smile, "the rewards are much sweeter if I make him wait."
A gruff grumble was heard from behind a newspaper that was conveniently hiding Greg Hudgens' face from his daughters. "She's fourteen Vanessa Anne…and I am in the room by the way." Greg mumbled toward his oldest daughter.
Vanessa and Stella both burst into a somewhat embarrassed laugh knowing how uncomfortable it made Greg to hear either of them talking about boys, in any form or fashion. And as much as Greg had come to respect and value Zac in their family, he still enjoyed the moments when he could live in a happy denial that his 21 year old daughter was practically married to her 22 year old, so-called, boyfriend.
Greg glimpsed from behind his newspaper to see the girls acting like teens, with huge grins on their faces and foreheads practically fused together laughing…at him. He gave the paper a solid shake and went back to the sports scores as Vanessa's text-tone sounded yet again.
Instead of reading the message this time Vanessa picked up the device, hit two buttons and placed the phone at her ear. "The answer is 'no' Zachary. End of story. Now get dressed and be ready to go. Stop texting me."
She turned the iPhone away from her ear to allow Stella to listen in with her. Stella grinned as she leaned her face against her big sister's.
"But Nessa…"
"No Zac. We talked about this during our vacation and after we got back home. Enjoy presenting the award. You've done the Oscars before and you can handle it even better this time. This time you don't have to sing and dance. This time you just stand up there, open an envelope, read the winner and then smile and just look handsome in your tux."
"Yeah, but this time you aren't with me." His voice gave away the pout that Stella had mentioned earlier and brought a soft sigh from Vanessa's chest.
"Baby this one's your invitation. You go do your thing. Talk about your movie. You can tell them that I'm joining you after the show. But this is about you, not us. Right?" Vanessa continued to let Stella listen but her face was drifting into a more private conversation. She wanted to be by Zac's side as well. But his Academy appearance was for him this year. And both knew he would benefit from it.
"You're right. I know."
"Now go, I hung your tux up on the closet door before I left." Vanessa took a deep breath and began her mothering instructions.
"Yes Dear. Um, Ness, is it all together?"
Vanessa shook her head and nodded. "Your shoes are on the floor, right underneath the tux." She continued, knowing that wasn't what he was asking about.
She glanced quickly at her sister but couldn't pull the phone away in time to avoid Stella hearing his boyish voice. "What about…you know…my C.K.'s?"
Vanessa quickly jerked the phone to her opposite ear and slammed her other hand over Stella's mouth just as the teen realized what Zac was referring to and let out a loud laughing snort.
"Yes Baby," Vanessa tried to keep her calm as she relayed information to the love of her life. "I put a pair of gray Calvin Klein boxer briefs on the hanger with your pants. Don't go anywhere…without…those." Vanessa ordered softly to Stella's amusement.
Greg rustled the paper behind them and looked at Stella overtop of his glasses.
"Yes Dear." Vanessa could hear Zac smiling on the other end. "But without you here…or there…I could lose 'em just about anywhere. Or I may be so nervous that I forget them completely."
"Zac!" Vanessa looked between her father and sister as she attempted to scold him. "I'm hanging up now. Don't text me again. Go get dressed. Put on all your clothes and be ready for the limo. Do not come by here. I'm not dressed and won't be until I know you're actually at the venue." She smiled at Greg rolling his eyes and shaking his head again.
"If you're not dressed then I definitely need to come by and get you." He worked hard not to laugh.
"Zachary David Alexander…" her frustrated voice trailed off as Zac answered.
"Yes Dear?"
"I love you and I'll see you at the V-F party."
"Describe your dress for me?" Zac attempted.
"No."
The voice from behind Vanessa was a little unexpected to her and Zac both. "Get off the phone, both of you, or I'm grounding my oldest daughter and you won't see her at all tonight."
Vanessa and Stella's eyes widened and met their father's as he continued to glare at them over the top of his reading glasses.
"Love you." Vanessa offered again.
"Yes Dear." Zac pressed. "Tell Greg I said 'hi'!" he quickly pressed the 'end call' button on his phone suddenly happy that he wasn't with his girlfriend, at her parents' home.
Vanessa looked back at Stella once Greg returned to his paper. "See, I can't have a baby yet." She pointed at her phone. "I'm already raising a 22 year old as it is." She grinned.
Stella elbowed her in the ribs. "And you are loving every minute of it!" the girls giggled together at the sound of Greg releasing a sigh behind them.
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"Oh, ooo there he is, there he is, turn it up!" Stella pointed at the tv screen and waited for Gina to turn the volume up just slightly to hear the questions that were being tossed at Zac as he exited the car that brought him to the Academy Awards.
Greg looked at his oldest daughter who had perched herself in the corner of the couch with a pillow in her lap and a finger twirling through her hair. She smiled but didn't say a word as she watched the screen intently.
"Zac, by yourself tonight?" One reporter quickly asked as several people craned their necks to see inside the car where Zac had been.
"Nah, looks like what a few thousand people around here?" He smiled a wide grin knowing exactly what the reporter was asking about. The man smiled back quickly and changed his tune.
"So you're presenting tonight. Any projects in your future that you'd like to tell us about?" The reporter pressed.
Zac was a little surprised that the man didn't ask about his lack of a date, but he was also a bit relieved. Even though he had thought about answering the 'Where's Vanessa?' questions he really didn't want to. He just wanted to get the awards ceremony over with and meet her at the after-party and see exactly what sort of dress she was using to torture him this evening.
So he put his mind in gear and began answering the various questions that were thrown his way. This was a good chance to plug his upcoming movie, "Charlie St. Cloud", and a good chance to mention that he hoped to try his hand at executive producer in another project.
As he approached the front doors of the building one last reporter stepped in front of him. "Zac, where's your date for this shindig?" Short and to the point. Zac smiled at the female with the microphone and rolled his eyes inwardly.
"Vanessa is meeting me later." He stated simply. The reporter smiled widely.
"So any chance you'd want to make a stop by our party later on? Lots of dancing, plenty of elbows to rub." She commented with a bit of hope.
Zac looked at her again and raised his chin. From the Hudgens' household Vanessa bit on her bottom lip. Zac's move was a sign that he was about to give away just a hint of their relationship and at the same time re-affirm to whomever would listen that the two of them were still, very much, together.
"You know, other than the V-F party, I'm not sure where Vanessa and I will be going tonight. I leave all the planning up to her. She rsvp'd to the parties for us."
At this the reporter simply nodded. "Well I'm sure you're anxious to get inside. Enjoy the evening."
"Awesome. I'm sure I will, thanks." Zac answered and quickly turned to head into the building. He had a single afterthought to his last answer. "Sure, I'll enjoy myself as soon as I can catch up with Ness once this thing is over."
Back at the Hudgens' home Vanessa smiled from her place on the couch. She continued to fiddle with a few strands of hair that were hanging out of the ponytail that she had pulled high on her head. She let her lip slide from between her teeth and looked away from the tv into blank space.
Gina patted her oldest on the arm. "Tell me again why you aren't there with him?"
Vanessa smiled warmly and shrugged. "I wasn't invited this year."
Gina raised her eyebrows. "Zac didn't ask you to go with him?"
Vanessa shook her head. "Mama. Of course Zac asked…well, actually, come to think of it, no he didn't ask. But he asked if I had another dress suitable for the Oscars because we were invited again."
Stella joined in the conversation. "Huh, sorry Sis, but isn't that invitation enough?"
Vanessa put the pillow down on the couch and rubbed her palms against her thighs and cotton shorts that she was wearing. "I know, it should be. But after I got all excited he let me look at the invitation. It wasn't to us. It was to Zac. I didn't get an invite from the Academy this year. I'm not ticked off or anything but I had a movie out in 09 as well. Why should I have to go as Zac's date. I just think I shoulda been invited as well."
Gina smiled at Vanessa and looked over at Greg. Mr. Hudgens rolled his eyes again and looked back at the tv. Vanessa saw the subtle gesture and rolled her own eyes.
"Men just don't get it do they?" she looked toward her mother intentionally forgetting that her father was in the same room. "Zac couldn't believe I didn't want to go either. I told him I'd get dressed up and we'd go to after-parties."
She smiled and looked down at Stella and then back up toward her father and raised her eyebrows in a defiant fashion. "I got an awesome dress! It's a Jenny Packham. It's black with this sheer covering."
Stella chimed in again with glimmering eyes, "Is it off the shoulder like last year's. That Marchisa was…oh my gosh…you just looked amazing in it!" she gushed.
Vanessa and Gina both noticed that Greg's ears perked up at the mention of Vanessa's dress. And now that she knew Zac was actually there, she would start getting dressed. Her own limo would be there to pick her up in another two hours. With the tan she had gotten at the Queensland beaches on their Australian vacation she wasn't worried about a lot of makeup. She was a bit worried about the cut of her dress, and keeping it in place. That would be where she needed help from Gina and Stella.
"Oh, it's not the flowing, overly formal kind of thing this year Stellz. No, this one is floor length and the sheer material is really prominent on the skirt of the dress. It's like, a halter that fastens around my neck. But it cuts… well, like this…" Vanessa took her hands and slide her fingers down her neck onto her chest, past her breasts and then brought her index fingers together just above her bellybutton to show where the 'v' of the dress would sit.
Gina's eyes widened and she glanced toward Greg who was once again tightly gripping the newspaper as he watched his wife and daughter chat.
"So, it's kinda like the tangerine one that you wore to the MTV awards?" Stella questioned.
"Yeah, the neckline is kinda like that but this one isn't as satiny. It's upstairs. You'll have to help me get into it in a few minutes anyway." The sisters continued discussing.
"Exactly how revealing is this dress?" Gina finally expressed the question that she knew her husband was dying to ask.
Vanessa looked up at her mom. "It shows…cleavage…if that's what you're asking." She answered somewhat humorously.
"Yeah but which part of your cleavage does it share with those who are going to be drinking and enjoying your presence?" Greg's voice nervously added to the conversation.
"Daddy." Vanessa shook off his question. "I'll be with Zac. We're going to one party. We have a limo to bring us home. I don't know what time we'll be home. Would you like me to call and let you know when we're home and our after the after-party plans?"
"La-la-la-la-la…don't want to hear this part of the conversation…" Stella chanted from behind a grin on the floor.
"No, Baby Girl I don't even need to ask about those plans. With the dress you're describing it's quite obvious what your plans are. My question is whether this dress you're wearing will keep you covered enough until the two of you at least get back to whichever house you're staying at tonight." Greg set his jaw and removed his glasses as he looked toward his oldest daughter.
True to form Vanessa returned his set-jaw attitude and looked him directly in the eye. "If Mom and Stella help me put enough tape on it, yes it'll cover me just fine, thank you." She stopped and quirked her head to the side for a split second with a thoughtful raise of her eyebrows. "Should be fine until we get into the limo…and depends just how much Zac likes my dress." She nodded and smiled at Gina when she finished speaking.
Gina's eyes were wide and didn't dare to look at Greg. Stella continued to stare at her big sister but her lips were pursed together tightly doing all she could to hold in the laughter that was running through her mind. Vanessa and Greg continued to stare.
"Stella you just better remember that I will approve of your wardrobe before you leave this house with any boy that you might date. As long as you live under this room AND if you ever decide to come back here to get dressed for any occasions." Greg belted with just a hint of defiance in his own eyes as he continued watching his oldest daughter.
"Wh- How'd I get roped into this? Uh-uh! Mom! No. Once I move out I can wear what I want…scratch that, when I turn 18 I'll wear what I want just like Nessa did. Right Mom? This is about her, not me!"
Vanessa finally lost it and let out the choking laugh that was in her throat. Greg's touch of anger continued in his eyes as he shook his head and smiled at all three of his girls in the room.
Stella sighed, bounced up on the couch and grabbed the pillow that Vanessa had been holding while watching Zac's various interviews. She watched as Vanessa walked to their father and wrapped her arms around him. "The dress is really pretty Dad. I swear I'll use an entire roll of the top tape and make sure it won't move. Maybe you'll even dance with me to try it out before the limo gets here?"
Greg took a deep breath. "Deal. But only if you're dressed in time. Don't you need to start? You don't want to keep Mr. Oscar Presenter waiting too long do you?" He finally gave her a gruff smile.
Vanessa turned around to face her mom and sister with a little-girl's grin on her face. "Stellz, c'mon help me get into it." She held out her hand and waited for Stella to take it.
"And I guess Zac'll help you out of it?" Stella added, keeping her back turned to her father.
"Stella Hudgens!" Greg's near choke mirrored his choked voice.
Gina waited until they could hear the girls giggling on the stairs before she walked over and wrapped her arms around her husband. "She only said what all of us were thinking you know." She leaned up and gave Greg a quick kiss on the jawbone.
Greg looked down at his wife purposefully refusing to smile. "Yes I know. But some of us don't want to think about what my 21 year old baby girl is planning for a non-Oscar-winning celebration."
Gina gave him a firm squeeze and pointed her face toward the floor. "Well, then I'll just say that you'd better hope they're married before either of them actually wins one of those statues."
Greg did his best to smack Gina on her backside followed by a low chuckle. "Please just go help her get dressed and use two rolls of tape if you have to. All three of you have reminded me why I really wanted a son. Now I practically have one…enough. I'm done thinking about this topic. Just go get her dressed."
Gina laughed and kissed him again before she walked out the door. "The awards show is on Channel 9. Keep an eye out and make sure Zac isn't cuddling up to someone else during the show."
Greg laughed. Then he flipped the tv to Channel 9 and leaned back in his recliner to enjoy the Oscars.
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Scenarios: Hawaii now available in paperback, hardback or e-book version at AuthorHouse dot com; Amazon dot com; or BarnesandNoble dot com.
Thanks for your support and encouragement! -adc