Disclaimer: I do not own HSM
A/N: I'm in the middle of a serious writer's block for "Our Song" but I'm going to try to get it done and uploaded soon. Please be patient. Thanks for reading. Please review.
Just an extra sidenote, Gina calls Vanessa "Anak". It's filipino. It's pronounced "A-" as in ball, and "nak" as in "knock". It means "my child". Anyways...
Love At First Sight
"Mom, can't you please come down with me?" A very young Vanessa Hudgens pleaded in the car. "I don't want to go in there by myself."
Her mother sighed. "Anak, I can't. Stella's doctor's appointment was scheduled for today, and the doctor already told me that we can't reschedule. Besides, I wouldn't see you for the whole day anyways. You'd be doing the callbacks the whole day."
"But mom—"
"No but's Vanessa. You've been to plenty of auditions. You'll be fine. You'll make friends. Didn't you tell me that Ashley was going to be here?" She questioned.
"Yes, but—"
"Then you will be fine." She told her daughter once more. "You're going to have fun today, and you're going to make friends."
Vanessa hung her head, and her mother's face softened. She pulled her chin up so that she could look her in the eyes. "Anak, you are going to be fine." She kissed her forehead. "I love you."
"I love you too, Mom." Vanessa grabbed her purse and opened the door of the car and got out. She walked into the building with her mother making sure that she got inside all right. When Vanessa got into the building, Gina pulled out of the parking lot.
Only a few weeks ago, Vanessa had done the auditions for the character Gabriella Montez. She had gone through all of the audition process and had gotten a callback saying that they had narrowed it down to twelve girls.
This callback for her part was going to be different however. They were going to have individual callbacks, but if you were in it for the two leads, they were going to pair you up with a boy for the male lead.
At first when she heard that she had gotten a callback, she had been ecstatic. But that changed five minutes later after her mom announced that she would not be going in there with her. Stupid doctor's appointment.
Vanessa suddenly got a moment of relief when she spotted Ashley. She walked over to her quickly.
"Ash!" She said when she got close enough to her.
Ashley turned around. "Nessa!" Ashley gave her a hug. "How have you been?"
"I've been good." Vanessa got a glimpse of a boy right behind Ashley. "Did I interrupt a conversation?" She asked Ashley.
"What?" Ashley looked behind her at the boy Vanessa was talking about. "Oh, pay no attention to blue eyes over there. He's not important."
Vanessa looked behind Ashley once more and got a good look at him for the first time. Ashley was right. He had blue eyes. And they were the most gorgeous pair of eyes Vanessa had ever seen. His hair was a brown tousled mass. It was long and covered his ears.
"Thanks, Ash." Vanessa heard him say sarcastically. He stood up and held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Zac Efron."
She took his hand into hers and felt a spark. Where had that come from? She shook it. "I'm—"
"Oh I know who you are. You're Vanessa Hudgens: the girl from Thunderbirds. It's nice to meet you. I've wanted to work with you since I saw the movie. Great job on it." He praised her.
"Thanks." She paused. "But now I feel bad because I know nothing about you." She admitted.
"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm nowhere near as successful as you are." He told her. He smiled at her. She saw that his smile was crooked. Wow, did she want to melt on the spot. He was really hot. He was humble too.
Ashley looked on at their cuteness. Something in her told her that this conversation between two of her friends would become something more. Something much more.
"So which part are you up for?" He asked her curiously.
"Gabriella." She replied.
"That's cool. I'm up for the part of Troy. I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other then."
"I hope so." She admitted to him.
Something about this guy made her feel something inside that she'd never felt before. No one had ever made her feel like this. Something was happening in her heart too. Suddenly it felt like it was complete. It felt like a missing piece of her had finally been filled in. And what was that spark that she felt when she shook his hand? That had never happened when she touched anyone. And it was all because of Zac. Luckily for her, the same thing was going through Zac's head.
A voice filled the room. "It's time for individual callbacks everyone. Those trying out for the parts of Troy and Gabriella please make your way over to the bulletin board by the double doors to see who you've been paired up with. Thank you."
"Well, I'll see you guys later." Ashley told them.
"Shall we go see who we've been paired up with?" He asked her.
She giggled. "Yes, let's."
They walked over to the bulletin board and looked for their names.
He pointed to his name. "Ah, Zac Efron." His finger followed the straight line to see who he had been paired up with.
Vanessa pointed to her own name. "Vanessa Hudgens." Her finger followed a same straight line to find her partner.
He said, "Vanessa Hudgens."
She said, "Zac Efron."
They said it simultaneously as their fingers came into contact with each other. There was that spark again.
Their fingers ceased contact with each other when they pulled their hands back.
"What a coincidence." Zac said. He looked at her with a dreamy look in his eyes.
"Yeah." Vanessa replied absentmindedly. She returned the same dreamy look he had in his eyes. "So…do you want to go warm up?"
"What? Oh, yeah. Sure."
Other people and their partners surrounded them so Zac and Vanessa made their way to a secluded corner and warmed up their voices.
"You have a really good voice." She commented.
"Thanks. But just to warn you, I am a guy…"
"You are? I never noticed." She teased.
He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm a guy and seventeen so my voice is kind of…changing, so that should just say it all. It just cracks sometimes. Sorry if my voice is bringing down your chances."
"It's all right. I don't mind being paired up with you. Honest." She promised him. And she wasn't lying. Who cares if his voice was acting the way it should be at seventeen? She'd been feeling something she'd never felt before in the past ten minutes.
"All right. Just to warn you."
Vanessa giggled. She loved that things were so carefree with him so far. If ten minutes with him produced this kind of effect on her, what would the rest of the day bring?
The double doors opened and to reveal a man. "Come in, everyone." He told them. Everyone entered the room. Five people sat at a table in the room. "Thank you all for coming today. Let me first say congratulations to all of you who have come this far. I wish you luck the rest of the day. My name is Bill Borden. I'm one of the executive producers."
He gestured to the people at the table. "These people are going to be the ones who will be watching you for the rest of the day. Some will be alternating with others so that they may be able to look at all of those who are up for the parts, but since you all are trying out for the two leads, we've made you our top priorities. Here we have our other executive producer Barry Rosenbush. Natalie Hart, Jeff Johnson, and Jason La Padura are in charge of casting. And this is our director Kenny Ortega.
"We'll be calling you in two at a time. After each pair has gone, we will post a new list up pairing you with another partner. On your way out, each pair will be given sheet music from the movie. We will be starting in thirty minutes. That should give the first pair enough time to get at least a few lines down. Let's get started."
Zac and Vanessa walked out and were given the music.
"'Start of Something New.' Very catchy." Zac commented.
"Come on. We'd better learn this just in case we're first." She told him.
They practiced with each other. They were surprised by how quickly and easily their voices blended with each other.
A few pairs went before them, but they soon heard their names called. They entered into the room. Kenny's eyes followed them.
"Go ahead and sing the chorus." Kenny told them after they had introduced themselves.
Zac and Vanessa started to sing.
This could be the start of something new
It feels so right to be here with you, oh
And now looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart
The start of something new
After they finished, six pair of eyes were staring at them very intently.
Zac and Vanessa stared back at them a little confused before walking out the door without another word.
"What do you think that was all about?" Vanessa asked Zac.
"I don't know. But I hope that the silence was a good thing."
Little did they know that the silence was a very, very good thing.
Eventually, all of the other pairs finished for the first round. Thirty minutes after the last pair had finished, a person came out with a paper and stapled it to the bulletin board.
Zac and Vanessa decided to wait until the excitement had died down to go see who they were going to be paired up with. But when no one was around the bulletin board, Vanessa looked around and noticed something.
She nudged him with her elbow. "Zac…I don't see a boy or girl standing alone."
"I see it too." He told her.
"You don't think…" She trailed off. They both got up from their seats and walked quickly over to the bulletin board.
They both reached it at the same time. He pointed to his name. "Zac Efron." His finger followed the straight line to see who he had been paired up with for the second time that day.
Vanessa pointed to her own name. "Vanessa Hudgens." Her finger followed a same straight line to find her partner.
He said, "Vanessa Hudgens."
She said, "Zac Efron."
They said it simultaneously as their fingers came into contact with each other. Again. And there was that spark again.
They both turned around with a confused expression on their faces.
"This isn't the same list by accident is it?" Zac asked her.
"No, because the rest of them have all switched partners." Vanessa pointed out.
"You don't think they forgot about us do you?" He asked.
"I'm not really sure. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing."
Zac shrugged. "Well, we might as well go along with it. It's not like we can ask for a different partner. I'm not complaining. I like having you as a partner."
"I know. I just think it's a little weird that we got paired together again. Maybe it was just a coincidence."
A nice coincidence. Zac thought to himself.
The process started once more, and Zac and Vanessa harmonized once more. Again silence engulfed the room as Zac and Vanessa finished singing. And once more they were left to wonder if the silence was a good thing.
They waited once more outside and talked with a few people and made some new friends. The person came out and posted the new list once more.
Zac and Vanessa didn't wait this time. They both tried to get over to the bulletin board. Both reached it at the same time.
He pointed to his name a third time. "Zac Efron." His finger followed the straight line to see who he had been paired up with.
Vanessa pointed to her own name. "Vanessa Hudgens." Her finger followed a same straight line to find her partner.
He said, "Vanessa Hudgens."
She said, "Zac Efron."
They said it simultaneously as their fingers came into contact with each other once more.
They both turned around again with the same confused expression they had on last time.
"All right. I don't think that this is coincidence anymore." Zac commented.
"Me too."
He shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll just have to go along with it again. Maybe they actually like us together or something.
"Maybe they like our names together or something. Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron. Zanessa. You gotta admit. It's kind of catchy."
She giggled. "As much as I love our names put together, I don't think that's the reason. Zanessa?"
"Yeah. Zac and Vanessa put together." He explained.
She laughed again.
"Anyways, ready to practice?"
The process went the same way for the rest of the day. Zac and Vanessa gave up long ago for looking if they had been paired up with someone different. But neither of them complained. They enjoyed each other's company.
At the end of the day, they were finally told that they could go home and that the cast would be chosen in the next week.
"So how was your day?" Ashley asked Zac and Vanessa.
They both looked at each other.
"Interesting." They said at the same time.
Ashley looked back and forth between the two with a skeptical look on her face. "Interesting how?" She asked curiously.
Zac and Vanessa started talking at the same time.
Vanessa giggled and said, "No, go ahead."
Zac chuckled. "No, you go."
Ashley looked at them. "Just one of you tell me." She ordered them.
"Zac and I were paired up the whole day." Vanessa told her.
Ashley's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?! That's great! Did you guys have fun then?"
Zac looked at Vanessa. "Actually. Yeah, we did. It was an awesome day."
Vanessa heard her cell ringing. "Hold on, guys." She answered. "Hello?"
"I'm outside the building, Anak. Your father wants us to come home so that we can eat dinner." Her mom told her.
"All right, Mom. I'll be right out." She hung up the phone and looked at her friends. "My mom says that I have to go now. So I'll see you later, Ash." She gave her a quick hug and turned to Zac. "Maybe I'll see you around?" She asked.
"Definitely." He assured her. "Oh wait, I didn't get your number." He told her. They exchanged phone numbers and gave a quick hug to each other. "See you later, Vanessa."
He stared after her as she exited the building. He turned back to Ashley. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked her.
"Oh nothing. It just seems that you and Vanessa got along pretty well considering you only met today."
"Yeah, so?"
"Nothing." She defended.
After dinner, Vanessa went onto her laptop and looked up Zac.
"All right. Hm stared in 'Miracle Run', 'Derby Stallion', and 'Summerland.' That's where I've seen him before." She said to herself as she. She took it a step further and went on YouTube to watch videos of his work.
She watched intently for the next few hours. She just couldn't seem to pull her eyes off of the screen. Two things went through her mind while she was watching the videos. Number one was that he was a really talented actor. Number two was that she was pretty envious of his co-stars that got to share a lip lock with him.
When she finished watching the videos, memories of the day flashed through her mind, and she smiled. He was such a cool guy so sweet and down to earth. She hoped that if neither of them got the part or if only one of them got the part, they would still become good friends.
The long-awaited call finally came telling Vanessa that she had gotten the part. She jumped up and down and squealed along with her sister. Her dad told her that he was proud of her and her mom did the same.
"Oh my gosh! I have to call—" She stopped. That was unexpected.
"What did you say, Van?" Her dad asked her.
"Oh, I just have to call my friends. I'll be in my room." She told them. She made her way to her room and closed the door. She'd told her father the truth. She really did want to call her friends. But the reason why she stopped was because the person who came into her mind first wasn't who she had been expecting. She'd wanted to call Zac first.
She sat down on the bed and let the realization sink in. She hadn't wanted to call Ashley first or any other of her girl friends. It had been the guy who had made a very good first impression on her. They'd been texting each other since the callbacks. She thought back to that day when she had first met him. She thought about that big part of her heart that had finally felt complete when she first laid eyes on him.
She came out of her trance when her phone started ringing. "Hello?"
"Vanessa?" She heard on the other line.
"Hey, Zac, I was just about to call you." She told him. "I got the part!"
"Really?! I'm so proud of you! I knew you would. I have some good news too."
"You got the part too!" Vanessa exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah. How did you know? Hey, wait a second. Why didn't you tell me you can read minds?" He asked jokingly.
"Zac, you're so funny. We were just paired together that whole day. It's only logical that you get the part." She explained.
"That's true. Oh, hey, I've got someone on the other line. I'll talk to you later. I guess I'll be seeing you a lot in the future."
"Yeah. I'll see you later, Zac. Bye."
"Bye."
Vanessa hung up the phone and stared at the receiver. It's like he already knew her. Again, her mind flashed back to that first time she had laid eyes on him and the completion that came along with it.
Now, Vanessa would call herself a hopeless romantic. She loved watching all of those "true love's kiss", "fairy tale", "I love you" movies. If you asked her if she believed in love at first sight, she probably would've said that it didn't happen in real life. But now looking back to when she first met Zac, maybe real life could be a fairy tale.
"Hey, dude. What's up?" Zac asked after he had gotten off the phone with Vanessa.
"So did you get the part?" His 'Miracle Run' co-star Bubba Lewis asked him.
"Yeah, man. I got it!" Zac exclaimed.
"Dude, that's awesome. So do you know who's playing your lady?"
Zac smiled to himself. "Actually, yeah. I do. Her name's Vanessa. She's really cool."
"Ooo, Zac has a crush." Bubba teased him.
"Shut up." Zac told him.
"Just kidding, Zac. So what's with this girl?"
"We just got paired up from the beginning. We hung out all day and stuff like that. We've been texting each other."
"So when you saw her was it like love at first sight or something?"
"Why are you asking questions like a girl?" Zac asked him.
"That hurt, Zac. That hurt. I just want to make sure that it was a pretty cool thing. I mean you hear about all of this real life turned fairy tale stuff and I just wanted to know. I mean, it's almost a rule that you don't find love at first sight in real life." He commented.
Zac thought about what he had felt as soon as he met Vanessa. The best way he could explain it was that it was like his heart felt complete. It was like the breath fresh air that he'd been waiting for. "I don't know, man. There are exceptions to rules. And I think that love at first sight is one of them."