Here's a one-shot that I wrote in spirit of the 4th of July. I just won't have time to post it tomorrow. P.S. I'm sorry if there are major mistakes. I was too lazy to grammar check it.

Quick summery: Zac and Vanessa are best friends at their local park for the annual 4th of July celebrations. They've had feelings for each other for quite a while, but haven't told each other yet. Will something happen during the fireworks display?

FIREWORKS HAVE MAGIC

The multi-colored lights flickered in her eyes as she watched him toss the baseball toward the stacked bottles.

Wham!

Down the bottles fell, clattering on the floor as he threw another ball toward the other stack.

Crash!

Most of those bottles hit to floor, the bottom row remained on the table.

"You can do it Zac!" Vanessa encouraged, hugging his arm and leaning her head onto it. Zac turned and smiled at her, picking up the remaining ball he had left. He tossed it to his right hand and launched it hard at the leftover pile of bottles.

Clang!

The rest of them hit the floor with a clang as the ball bounced on the floor overtop them.

"We've got a winner!" the man announced, "Now what would you like for your prize?"

"Ness, what do you want?" Zac asked, giving his best friend a hug around the shoulders as her eyes lit up.

"Aww...Zac, can I have that big cheetah?" Vanessa asked, a child-like tone in her voice.

"Of course. Anything for you, Ness." Zac smiled at the naive nature that Independence Day always brought out in his friend. The man reached up and took down the biggest stuffed animal they had, the cheetah that Vanessa was admiring. After Zac received the stuffed animal from the man, he handed it to Vanessa, her mouth turning into a huge grin.

"Thank you Zac! You're the best!" Vanessa exclaimed, accepting the prize from Zac. She squeezed it close to herself, feeling the softness of the material rubbing against the smooth skin of her face and arms. "It's so soft and fluffy."

"Nothing but the best for you."

Zac put his arm around Vanessa's shoulders as they walked away from the booth. They were at a local park for the 4th of July celebrations. The park always hosted a carnival complete with games, rides, and snacks. And once night fell, the head of the festivities would start to shut down all the lights and release the fireworks show. Zac and Vanessa went over to a concessions booth, ordered funnel cakes with powdered sugar on top, and went over to a lone empty table.

"So Nessa, are you enjoying yourself?" Zac asked, tearing off a piece of the sprinkled fried dough and popping it in his mouth.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Vanessa answered, still playing with her stuffed animal.

"Okay, open up. You've got to eat," he stated, ripping off another piece to feed Vanessa, "Open up."

"What if I'm not hungry?" she teased, speaking like a little baby. She opened her mouth and allowed Zac to feed her. Chewing slowly, she savored the initial sweetness from the sugar to the favor of the dough underneath.

"Are you sure you're not hungry?" Zac questioned, a mocking tone in his voice. He loved going to this park every 4th of July. It always brought out the kid in both him and Vanessa.

"Okay, you're right, I am hungry," Vanessa surrendered. She placed the stuffed animal beside her and tore off her own piece of the funnel cake.

"When am I not right?" he inquired, his words muffled because he was speaking with his mouth full.

"Zachary David Alexander Efron, don't eat with your mouth full. Don't you ever learn?" Vanessa grabbed a napkin and wiped away powdered sugar that hung on the corner of his mouth. "Messy eaters, why are all boys messy eaters?"

"And why aren't all girls like you?" Zac retorted, taking the napkin from her and finishing the job. "Why can't all girls be fun, out-going, and gentle like you?"

"Because if they were, then I wouldn't be your best friend. You'd be off with someone else," Vanessa smartly retaliated, "and I wouldn't want that."

"Neither would I, Vanessa, neither would I."

They continued eating the funnel cake, occasionally feeding each other pieces. As they finished, Zac got up and tossed the plate away. Then, Zac and Vanessa wondered the park, looking for some rides to go on.

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The sky was beginning to turn a dusty gray as the sun faded behind the big Ferris wheel, operating on its last ride. The bright lights turned off and on in a pattern, repeating it whenever it reached the end. Zac and Vanessa were sitting together, Vanessa's stuffed animal strapped in beside her. She gazed on, a bag of blue cotton candy in one of her hands, her other holding on to Zac's.

"Van, are you feeling okay?" Zac asked out of concern. When they went on a roller coaster a couple hours ago, Vanessa had gotten sick. Once the ride was over, she rushed over to the nearest receptacle. Zac ran up behind her and held her hair back. That was the last roller coaster they went on that day.

"Yeah, better than before," Vanessa answered, blushing in embarrassment.

The conversation subsided as the seat they were in started its descent. Vanessa glanced over to see Zac looking far off into the distance. She wanted to tell him now, but just couldn't. Especially after she nearly upchucked on him. Thankfully, he was there to hold her hair back out of her face. It was things like that that make Zac the most attractive boy in the world. Those things were why she was in love with him, only he didn't know that yet.

"Hey Zac," Vanessa said, pulling his stare away from whatever he was looking at to her.

"Yeah?" Zac's blue eyes bore into hers, causing Vanessa to turn away.

"Nothing...forget I said anything," Vanessa quickly said, her cheeks growing redder with every word she spoke. "Thank goodness he can't see me blushing. That'd be more embarrassing than earlier."

"Okay." Zac looked on, seeing the somewhat distant look in her eyes. He wondered what she wanted to say to him and more importantly, when would be the best time for him to tell her how he truly felt. Sure they've been really close for over a year now, close to two now, but he never told her that he loved her or how he felt.

Reaching over, he put his arm around Vanessa shoulder and pulled her close to him. She smiled under the mask of the faint daylight, snuggling her head into his shoulder. The rest of the ride was taken in silence and when they got off, the sun had completely disappeared from the sky.

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"When do you think they're going to start?" Vanessa asked, leaning against Zac as he sat against a tree.

"Maybe in a few minutes. They beginning to shut down all the lights of the rides now," Zac stated, pointing past the gate to the Ferris wheel they were on minutes earlier.

Zac enclosed his arms around Vanessa. She blushed again in the mask of the night. They watched as one by one, like dominoes falling, the lights of each ride and booth shut off.

Vanessa looked up and once again saw Zac staring off into the distance, like he did on the Ferris wheel. "What's been on his mind all night?" She looked down and started playing with her hands, entwining her fingers with each other.

Zac glanced down and saw her playing with her hands. He chuckled mentally to himself and took his friend's hand in his, stopping her from her earlier games. "Hey, Ness, can I tell you something?" The opening rockets of the fireworks display started launching up into the air.

"What?" Vanessa asked, not taking her eyes off the rockets that were shooting into the air and exploding into colorful .

"Actually, it's not that important. It can wait," Zac lied.

"Are you sure?" Vanessa inquired, turning around to look at him.

"Yeah," he answered, "Aren't they amazing, the fireworks?" Zac placed his arm over Vanessa's chest protectively.

"Sure they are," she replied. She held on to Zac's arm, feeling more at home than she ever had in her life. She always felt that way in his arms and she loved the feeling.

They watched in silence as the each firework explode into an interesting design as it reached it peck in the sky. The light from each one illuminated on their faces and reflected in their eyes. Eventually, Vanessa's mind started to wonder off onto the fact that she had Zac's arm draped over her chest. She stopped to think, feeling Zac's chest rise and fall with every breath he took. Suddenly, his grip on her tightened and her heart started to race.

She looked up again, "Zac, can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"There's been something that's been on my mind all day. It's something that I've been hiding from you; something that I have to tell you," she explained, sitting up.

"What do you mean? What have you been hiding?" Zac asked worriedly, afraid that his friend could've been in trouble or worse.

"Zac, calm down, it's not bad news...at least I hope it isn't."

Zac remained silent, taking a hold of Vanessa's shoulders to support her in what she was about to reveal to him.

"Okay, well, you know how we're like the best of friends. I mean we really are. You're always there for me. You listen to me whenever I feel like pouring my soul out to somebody. You're the one who makes me smile and laugh whenever I feel sad. You're the first person I go to whenever I need to talk to somebody..."

Zac smiled to himself, knowing where this was going. At least, at this point he knew that she felt the same way.

"... And you are just a fun person to hang around with. You make me laugh at the simplest of things and you make everything better with a joke. You're so relaxed about anything and you encourage me with everything I do. You never tune me out even if I'm talking too much..." her words were cut off as Zac leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. The fireworks could be heard in the background still, bathing them in color as they continued to kiss. Vanessa felt Zac pull away, which she didn't want him to do.

"Ness, for the first time, I think you were talking too much," Zac stated smartly, "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that."

"You don't know how long I've waited for you to do that," Vanessa answered, slightly dazed from the fact that she was just kissed by Zac Efron, the love of her life.

"Better late than never than, huh?"

Vanessa smiled and returned to her spot on Zac's chest, next to his heart. Zac placed his arm over her again, with his hand taking a hold of her shoulder. His other hand held Vanessa's hand tightly. In silence, they continued watching the rest of the fireworks show. Each rocket exploding into a different color, a different design, a different picture. The colors cascaded along the sky, melting into a thin stream, leaving a trail of fading colors as they dissolved into ashes.

"Hey Zac," Vanessa said, watching as the finale started to go underway.

"What is it, Ness?"

She looked up at him. "I love you."

"I love you too Vanessa," he answered, smiling brightly in the night sky that was illuminated by the many colors of the explosives.

Vanessa reached up and stole a quick kiss before turning her attention back to the fireworks display. Once she settled back into her position, Zac held her even closer than he had before. He never wanted to let her go. This is where he belonged; this was how he had always pictured it; this was a dream come true...his dream come true.

They spent the rest of the night in silence, their attention solely focused on the fireworks finale. One after one, the lights exploded into bright colorful picture followed by a loud crash of sound.

Both of them counted each explosive, counted the days they had waited to tell each other how they felt, and counted the years they would spend together.

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Kinda corny, but I liked it. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With much love,
KAT