Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical, nor am I affiliated with Disney Channel in any way. However, I do own the original characters in this story, and they are not to be used or mentioned elsewhere without the author's permission.

Author's Note: Rated M for language and mature themes.

Prelude

Previously on California Dreaming

"Well, you guys are graduating next month…and my brothers and I talked to our manager, and we decided…we need some time off from shows.", Joe said, smiling even wider, "So, we won't be performing live for a long time, and we're gonna stay in Los Angeles."

--

"You really do love me."

"Of course I do. But after all this, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What?", Zack asked, giving a facial expression like he knew what Troy was going to say.

"My name is Troy Bolton. Do you wanna be my best friend?"

Zack smiled from ear to ear, "I'd like that."

--

Zack's P.O.V

Over the summer, things changed drastically. I found out a lot of things, the most important being that Joe and I were madly in love...at least I was with him. I was happy when he told me the truth - that he loved me, but he wanted me to be with Troy, so he and Troy planned on letting me find out how much I missed him myself. While Kevin dated Troy, Joe pretended to have feelings for me and loved me like he did before, and I realized how much I missed Troy and how badly I wanted to be with him.

Joe told me the truth and said that he still loved me, but he wanted me and Troy to be together more than anything. That night he told me, we were parked outside Troy's house. When I found out, I kissed Joe and thanked him for everything. I told him that I loved him and he was one of the world's most amazing guys ever.

I watched as he drove away and knocked on the door to Troy's house. The man I loved so much opened the door and smiled, not knowing about the truth being spilled. I kissed him passionately at the door and exhaled - I missed doing that so much. He smiled at me, knowing that Joe told me the truth. I smiled back and closed the door as Troy invited me inside.

I sat on the couch with Troy, his arms around me, and apologized for everything. He told me he loved me so much and that he wanted to be with me forever. He said that he never took the watch off, only to shower, and that every time he looked at the big Z, he cried. Not being with me killed him inside and I swore to him that he'll never have that feeling again.

It was so good to be home.

Yep! Like I said, I've started the series of One Shots, and it started with this prelude shedding light on what some people missed out on in Summer in Los Angeles before it was removed. The next chapter is intense, so read and review!