Starla hung up the phone reassuring her son that she would pass along his message, one way or another. She decided she better check the messages that were on the machine.

The first two were from her husband, Zac's father, David. "Starla, call me as soon as you can. I just stumbled on something at work…I think we'd better call Zac." Then…"Starla I can't get you on your cell phone…where are you? Call me please…asap."

The third message was one that Zac had warned her about. "Mr. & Mrs. Efron this is Jason Stewart from Star Magazine. Can we get a comment from you on the photos of Vanessa that have been released? Give me a call at 212-555-STAR." Jerk! Starla thought. How dare that s.o.b. call here!

The final caller didn't leave their name. The call was short, simple and tearful, "Mr & Mrs. Efron…I'm sorry." Starla stopped. That was Vanessa. The same Vanessa that hadn't called them Mr. & Mrs. since she first met them. They had told her to use their first names and she had happily done so. It was also the same Vanessa whose messages were usually very cheerful when she would call to make sure Zac made it home for a weekend visit each month.

Now Starla knew first hand why Zac was worried about her.

She picked up the phone and dialed her husband's work number. At the same time she grabbed her overnight bag from the closet and started throwing some clothes into it. David answered his phone on the second ring.

"Starla, where have you been? Something's come up. When's a good time to call Zac?" David rushed his words not sure how to explain to his wife what was going on.

"I think I know what you're trying to tell me about. I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, I was on the phone with Zac." Starla was able to stay calm, hoping to help her husband calm down too. "He's very aware of this photo mess. I assume that's what's come up?"

"How did Zac find out? Has he talked to Vanessa? Does he know how this happened?" David was anxious for answers.

"Yes he's talked to Vanessa. That's how he found out. He kind of had a hand in it happening." Starla sighed thinking about Zac's confession.

"He…what?" David was stunned. "He can't get involved in something like this, he's got a reputation and a career on the line. He needs to get as far away from this as he can." David's voice was cold, not what Starla was expecting.

"David, honey, please don't take that tone. You don't know the whole story."

"Why is he taking pictures of her like that? I'm surprised Greg Hudgens hasn't killed him already." David continued.

"David!" Starla yelled into the phone. "That's enough!" She was still trying to pack her things. "Where's my toiletry bag?" She mumbled to herself.

"What can you tell me then?" David asked? "And what are you doing? Why do you need your toiletry bag?"

Starla began the story, trying to summarize things and keep some of the details out of it that Zac had shared with her. "Zac did NOT take the pictures. Vanessa took them of herself before she and Zac met. But Zac asked her to e-mail them to him so that he could have pictures of her while he's away. She tried to e-mail them but something went wacko on her computer and they never got to Zac. They don't know where they actually ended up, but now they're all over the place."

David took a moment to let his wife's words soak in. "How is Vanessa handling this?" That sounded more like the husband that Starla knew and loved.

"Not well. She called Zac about two hours ago and ended up telling him that they were 'done'. And then she hung up on him. Now she won't answer his calls." Starla found the bag. "Oh good, there it is." She mumbled again.

"Is she mad at Zac? You still haven't told me why you need your toiletry bag." David was still confused.

"No, I don't think she's mad at Zac. But I think she's really, really confused and depressed. Zac's afraid she's going to do something irrational. He's so scared about it that he wants to come home from Australia. He practically begged me to let him come home so he could get to her." Starla explained. "When I got off the phone with Zac I checked our messages. There was one from Vanessa but she didn't even say who was calling. It just said, 'Mr & Mrs. Efron, I'm sorry.'"

"But Vanessa doesn't call us that. She calls us Starla and David. How do you know it was her?" David wondered.

"I know that voice, David. Even through the tears. Her voice is just one that's become very familiar to me." Starla was beginning to consider Vanessa as a daughter, another member of their family. She hated to hear that voice filled with such hurt.

"Anyway, I told Zac that I would try to get in touch with Vanessa and see if she will talk to me. Or at least I'll try to talk to Gina and see what the situation is. In order to do either one of those I need to go to L.A." David was a little stunned.

"Do you think it's a good idea to intervene? What if Gina and Greg are furious with Zac? Were you planning on going by yourself? When are you leaving?"

"DAVID! Please, I'm a grown woman. My son is thousands of miles away from me and he's practically heartbroken and heart-sick about the pain he's causing Vanessa. The least I can do is get a first-hand look at the situation and find out what we can do to make this better for both of them. I'm hoping if Greg and Gina will team up with us, we can try to show a strong front to help both our children." Starla still didn't have a plan, but she knew she was heading to L.A."

"Well where are you staying? Are you leaving right away? Maybe I should come with you." David sounded a little hurt that she wasn't including him in this trip.

"I'm going to stay at Zac's, if Vanessa will come over to let me in. That's part of my plan…I hope. I'm going to call Gina right after I hang up with you and see if I can make sure that Vanessa's ok. Let me make this trip alone. I'm hoping if Gina and I can get along on this that we can bring you and Greg in very soon. The big thing I need to do…for Zac…is see Vanessa." Starla explained.

"He really cares about her doesn't he?" David asked.

"He loves her David. That's what he asked me to tell her, if she'll talk to me. That's why I need to do this in person. I can't deliver that kind of message over the phone." Starla tossed her nightclothes into the bag and zipped it up. "I'll be on the road in half an hour, hopefully."

"Be careful please." David said. "I love you, I'll miss you!"

"Love you too sweetheart. Let Dylan know where I am, but be careful on the details you give him. I'd really prefer he not look at the pictures of Vanessa. That's something Zac and Vanessa don't need to worry about." Starla had a cold chill run down her spine as she thought about Dylan seeing semi-nude pictures of Zac's girlfriend. At age fourteen Dylan's hormones were raging enough. This certainly wouldn't help that situation.

"I'll be careful, promise. And I'll call you later tonight." Starla finished the conversation and hung up the phone.

One more call to attempt to make. She thought.

It took a few minutes for her to find the Hudgens' home phone number. She had Vanessa's cell number programmed into her phone, but she rarely had a reason to call Gina. Luckily she had written the number down in her phone book a couple of years ago when Zac and Vanessa had insisted on keeping in touch after filming the first High School Musical movie. Hopefully the number hadn't changed.

She picked up her phone and tentatively dialed the number. She had no idea what kind of reaction she should expect, so she braced for the worst.

"Hello?" A young voice answered. Then she heard an adult voice in the background. "STELLA we told you NOT to answer that phone. Hang up. Hang UP!"

Before Stella could put the phone down, Starla decided to try and catch her attention. "Stella, STELLA! Please don't hang up, this is Starla…Starla Efron…Zac's mom. Please don't hang up…Stella!"

Vanessa's younger sister had been slow to put the phone down and had caught just a word or two of what Starla was saying. "Mrs. Efron?" Stella asked as her mother continued to yell at her to hang up the phone.

"Mom, wait…MOM! It's not the tabloids…I think it's Zac's mom." Starla could tell there was a struggle going on for the phone so she just hung on the line waiting for a voice or a dial tone.

Suddenly a voice appeared on the other end. "May I help you?" Gina Hudgens sounded very skeptical.

Starla started gently. "Gina? It's Starla Efron. Can we possibly talk for a minute, please?"

Gina was taken aback. "I mean no disrespect, but how do I know this is really you?"

Starla understood completely. "None taken. I'm not sure how to convince you, but I can tell you that Zac just called me from Sydney. He is really worried about Vanessa and so am I. She left me a message earlier today apologizing to us. She sounds very hurt and Zac is scared for her. Her call made me concerned for her as well. Gina, is she ok?"

"Starla, are you aware of what's going on?" Gina asked timidly.

"I am. Zac told me." Starla said carefully. "Gina, Zac said Vanessa told him they were 'done'. Is that what you and Greg want…for them to break up because of this?" Starla knew Gina was still very hesitant to talk about this but she needed to know.

"Wh-When did she tell him that? Greg nor I have said that. She won't even tell us who these pictures were being sent to. We assumed they were going to Zac, but Vanessa won't tell us. Starla, do you know how this happened?" Gina sounded very concerned but Starla didn't feel comfortable sharing the story with her, especially not over the phone.

"Gina, it's my turn to apologize. I'm not sure that I should share what Zac told me. I want to help Vanessa but I don't want to betray her confidence or Zac's. All I know for sure is that Vanessa is hurting deeply and Zac is very worried about her. Enough so that he wants me to see her and make sure she's ok. So I'm coming to L.A. tonight. I'd like to stay at Zac's apartment and I know Vanessa has a spare key. Would it be possible for her to meet me there and let me in and maybe talk to me a little bit?"

Gina was feeling a bit hurt. Vanessa had been in her room for the past three hours and wouldn't talk to her or Greg. They didn't know how to help their daughter and they were still astonished and disturbed at what was happening in her life. As much as Gina wanted Starla to tell her what Zac had said, she would rather hear the story from Vanessa. And right now it didn't matter. She knew Starla was right. Having Vanessa open up to anyone right now was better than the sobbing daughter who wouldn't come out of her room.

Gina broke down. Starla could hear the quiet tears coming from the phone but she wasn't sure what to do. After a moment she heard another voice on the line. "Starla?" It was Greg Hudgens.

"Hi Greg." Starla said softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset Gina. I-we're just worried about Vanessa. I'm coming to L.A. tonight. I promised Zac I would try to see Vanessa because she's not answering his calls right now. He needs to know that she's ok…and he wants to hear that from me." She knew it sounded crazy. She knew this made Zac sound guilty for something in this mess, but she decided she was not going to tell them what role he had played. That was up to him and Vanessa to share with them, not her.

"Why hasn't he tried to call the house?" Greg asked warily.

"He didn't know if any of you would talk to him. He talked to Vanessa a couple of hours ago…or at least he heard from her. He said she was hysterical and wouldn't listen to him. And now she won't answer his calls. Honestly, I don't know if he thought to call your house or not. I just know he's terribly worried about her." Starla didn't know what else to say. She had told them both that she was headed to L.A. All she could do was ask again to see Vanessa.

"Greg, when I get to L.A., can you please have Vanessa come and let me into Zac's apartment? She has a spare key. I don't. Or I can come by your place to pick it up. Either way, I'd really just like to see her. Would that be possible?"

"I don't know Starla…we can try. She's been locked in her room for hours now. I didn't know she had even tried to call Zac – isn't it the middle of the night in Sydney? We heard her yelling at one point and ran to check on her. I kind of assumed one of the paps had gotten her cell number. Then we heard her phone ring a couple of times but never heard her answer. We kind of figured she had turned the phone off." Greg sounded very unsure now about his daughter. Gina was standing at his side with tears in her eyes. "Starla, hang on a second, please?"

"Sure. I'm just getting into my car and getting on the road. Do you want me to call back when I'm closer?" She was still pushing to see Vanessa.

"No, hang on, I'm going to send Gina up to see if Vanessa will talk to you."

The house phone had been ringing off the hook since noon. At first Gina had no idea what was going on. Vanessa had answered the phone a couple of times and then yelled at the callers to leave her alone. She had then logged onto the internet and Gina saw, over her shoulder, the pictures.

Gina was shocked to say the least. Vanessa had hung her head in embarrassment and just walked away from the computer, not even bothering to log off the fateful website. Gina had yelled after her. "Vanessa Anne Hudgens! What is this about, where did these come from?" Vanessa wouldn't answer her.

Gina had seen Vanessa pick up her phone and hesitate for a minute before dialing a number. She seemed to be in a fog. Vanessa didn't move when the person she called answered the phone. Gina clearly heard the conversation and thought she was talking to Zac, but she wasn't sure. Vanessa had been very vague throughout the conversation and looked completely lost.

"The Star website." Vanessa had told the person. "They're all on there, all of them. I know, I know you wouldn't lie to me…I know you wouldn't do this to me. But somebody did, cause they're there. I, I'm sorry. It was stupid. I knew better but I did it anyway. No, it's not your fault, don't say that. This is my screw up. I have no one to blame but myself. I, I can't talk anymore right now. I'll call you back in a little bit."

By that time V had noticed her mom staring, listening to her conversation. It didn't matter to her. Nothing mattered right now. All she could think about was how tingly she had felt when Zac said he wanted to see 'those' pictures of her. She couldn't wait to send them to him. But then he'd said he didn't get the pictures. She believed him, didn't she? He wouldn't lie to her about that. He wouldn't lie and then release them to the tabloids, would he? No, he wouldn't do that. But Vanessa was second guessing herself. She just wanted to run and hide…but it was too late. She wanted Zac there with her…or did she? She wasn't sure what she wanted anymore and then she realized that no one could help her. No one.

Gina had glanced again at the pictures and then walked over to Vanessa who was simply frozen. She was standing in the middle of the dining room, fiddling with her phone and staring into nowhere.

"Honey, please, talk to me. How did this happen? Who hurt you like this?" Gina didn't dare ask, but the question went through her mind and apparently slipped over her tongue, "Was it Zac?"

Vanessa's eyes had lit up with flames in them as she gritted her teeth and looked at her mother. "Does it really matter who did it, mom? Does it? Do you think Zac would do this? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't but does it really matter? What matters is that it's done. I'm done. My career, my life…I'm done." She had stormed up to her room and locked the door. Gina heard the crying begin and knew her little girl was hurting.

She walked back over to the computer and looked closely at the pictures. She wondered if, perhaps, Zac had taken them. But as she reviewed them she could tell they weren't recent pictures of her daughter. They almost looked like they had been taken by Vanessa herself. IF that was the case, how did they end up on a national tabloid's website. Then it dawned on Gina…if they were on this website, it would only be a matter of days before they appeared everywhere else. She felt sick; she felt scared; she needed help. So she quickly picked up the phone and called Greg.

"Come home, please." Gina had asked.

"Is everything okay? What's going on?" Greg had no clue what could have happened.

"Please, just come home. I can't explain this over the phone and I…Vanessa and I…we need you here at home." Gina had managed to spit the request out.

"I'm on my way." Greg had put the phone down, grabbed his briefcase and headed out of the office. He only stopped to let the receptionist know that he was gone, and didn't know when he would be back, there was a family emergency.

It only took Greg fifteen minutes to get home. Thankfully in mid-afternoon the traffic wasn't bad. He had no idea what he would find when he got home but he parked the car and got into the house as quickly as possible. He heard Gina upstairs trying to talk to Vanessa.

"Honey, please talk to me. Daddy's on his way home. We need to talk about this. We need to figure out what to do."

Then he heard Vanessa crying. "There's nothing 'we' can do mom. It's too late. I screwed up and that's it…done, finished. It's all me."

"Oh my god," Greg thought. "She's pregnant. 18 years old and pregnant. I'll kill him for hurting her. He will never see her again."

Greg was up the stairs in three steps and at his wife's side. "Vanessa, honey, daddy's home. Tell me what's going on." No answer. "Baby V talk to me. I'm not mad, I just want to help you."

Then a muffled voice came from inside her room. "The one person who could possibly help me is half a world away." And then the crying continued.

Gina led Greg down the stairs. He was pretty sure he knew what was going on. "I'll kill him Gina. When he gets back into the states, I'll kill him. How dare he do this to her. She trusts him, hell, I trusted him."

Gina was confused, but Greg seemed to know what he was talking about. "How did you find out? I assume you're talking about Zac…what role did he play in this mess? Who told you?"

Now Greg was a little confused. "What role did he play? Isn't he the one who got her pregnant? Please, God, tell me she wasn't sleeping with more than one boy. I can't take the thought of that."

"Preg-pregnant? Who said she's pregnant? Nude pictures aren't bad enough, she's pregnant too???!!!" Gina buried her head in her hands. "She's on birth control…and right after Zac left she told me they had 'NOT' had sex. How can she be pregnant?"

Greg stopped her for a minute and pulled Gina's hands away from her face. "Wait…nude pictures? What are we talking about? I assumed from the conversation I heard upstairs that Vanessa was pregnant. I don't know anything about 'pictures'.

They both stopped for a minute. Things had gotten way out of hand. They heard Vanessa's sobs get louder from upstairs and they both went back to her bedroom door.

"You haven't done something stupid like this. Leave it to me to have things going so well and then SCREW THEM UP!" Vanessa was on the phone and hysterical now. She stopped talking and her crying quieted for just a moment as she tried to listen to the person on the other end of the line.

"Why do you keep saying 'we' Zac? You aren't the one going through this. You aren't the one that has to get through this. I am. There's no reason you need to deal with this mess. It'll only bring you down too and you can't do that." Her tears had risen again and soon they heard her say "we're done." After that something had hit the door. That's where they heard her phone ringing just moments later but Vanessa didn't answer it.

Gina had taken Greg back downstairs after that and sat him down at the computer. She pulled up the website that was still emblazoned on the screen. There he saw the pictures of his baby girl that no one should have been allowed to see. Gina held onto his shoulders and felt him begin to shake. Then she saw the tears streaming down his face.

"Who took these?" He growled. Again he was blaming Zac.

"I don't know honey." Gina answered. "But I can tell you they weren't taken recently. She's grown up quite a bit since those were taken. It almost looks like she took them of herself."

Greg looked at them for just another moment and then hastily shut down the computer screen. "Nobody" he said slowly "should be allowed to see my daughter like that. NOBODY!"

He had taken a walk after that to try and put his thoughts together. When he returned Stella was home from school and the phone had begun to ring. It didn't take long for them to realize they didn't want to answer these calls. More tabloids wanting answers, seedy talk shows wanting interviews. Gina was trying to field the calls and then decided it was just easier to hang up the phone, or not answer it at all.

Greg had jerked the phone cord from the wall but Stella begged him to put it back. She was expecting a call from a friend who was going to help her with homework. She promised she would only answer if she knew the number on the caller-id. It was just about an hour later that she answered the call from Starla Efron.

Greg, Gina and Stella had all three made trips up to Vanessa's room to try and encourage her to talk to them. They were worried. Gina especially was worried since she had seen such a drastic change in Vanessa since earlier in the day.

"Gina. Go tell Vanessa that Starla is on the phone. Ask her to talk to her, please. Tell her that Zac is worried and is sending Starla to check on her."

Gina went up the stairs and stood by the door for a moment. She didn't hear the crying now. She didn't hear anything at all, which scared her. For the first time that afternoon she reached for the door handle and tried to gain entry to her daughter's room. To her surprise, the door was open.

When she walked into Vanessa's room she saw the phone laying by the door, as they had suspected, she had thrown it there after her last conversation with Zac. Then she saw Vanessa laying, curled up into a ball, in the center of her bed. Gina stalled, watching carefully to see if her daughter was still breathing. She hadn't even thought about Vanessa taking some drastic measure to make this all go away…until Starla had called. Now Gina stood, holding her breath, until she saw her daughter's body rise and fall with a few breaths.

She took a few more steps and sat gently down on the edge of the bed. Vanessa wasn't sleeping, as she had thought. Instead she was again staring off into space, looking like a lost little girl. Gina could see the tear stains on her face and knew that she was lost, lost in her own thoughts.

"Vanessa, honey?" Gina touched her daughter softly on the hip. "Please look at me." Vanessa shifted her eyes to do as her mother had requested. "Zac's mom is on the phone. She'd like to talk to you. Zac's very worried because you haven't answered his calls. Starla is on her way down to L.A. and she'd like to see you. Will you talk to her? Please?"

Vanessa didn't say anything. But she stretched her legs and shifted herself around in the bed until she had a pillow under her head. She just nodded at her mom. Gina went to her own bedroom to get the cordless phone to bring into Vanessa's room. "Greg, I've got it up here. You can hang up." Gina waited to hear the other phone click downstairs. "Starla are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"Vanessa is willing to take your call. I'm just going to take the phone to her." Gina walked across the hall and looked again at her daughter who was wiping tears away from her pale, distorted face.

Gina gingerly handed the phone to Vanessa who accepted it with shaky hands. "Do you want me to stay?" Gina mouthed to her daughter. Again, Vanessa nodded. So Gina sat down beside her on the bed and put her hand out for Vanessa to take.

It took Vanessa a minute to gather the courage to speak to Starla. She had called and left a message for her and David earlier, apologizing to them for the explosion she knew she had caused.

Finally, Gina heard her daughter speak for the first time in hours. "Star – Mrs. Efron – is Zac okay?" The tears started rolling again as she said Zac's name.

Starla was working to ignore the fact that Vanessa had again called her by her wedded name, instead of speaking to her so candidly as she usually did. "Oh honey, it is so good to hear your voice." Starla was nearly in tears herself. She didn't want to push this too far. She just wanted to make sure Vanessa was ok for the moment, until she could get there and see her for herself.

"Zac is fine. He's very worried about you, but he's fine. " Starla waited to see if there was any response.

"I, I miss him." Vanessa barely whispered into the phone. Gina saw the tears rolling down Vanessa's cheeks and saw her chewing on her bottom lip. "Do you want me to talk to her?" Gina asked. Vanessa shook her head and held the phone closer to her face.

"I know, Sweet Girl, I know you miss him. He wants to be with you right now, believe me he does. I had to make him try to sleep or he would still be trying to call you right now."

"He, he shouldn't lose sleep over me. He has too much to do." Vanessa answered back, again barely whispering.

Starla didn't want to keep her on the phone much longer. She needed to drive and she was feeling a little more confident that Vanessa was okay. "Vanessa, sweetheart, I'm on my way to L.A. Zac wanted me to make sure the paps weren't bothering his apartment. I want to spend the night there, but I don't have a key. Can I come by your house and borrow your key…or could you meet me at Zac's place to let me in?" It sounded like a valid lie to Starla. And in the state Vanessa was in, she didn't feel like arguing with her.

"I, I really don't want to leave my house right now. Can mom give you directions and you come get the key? We're only about ten minutes away from Zac, Zac's place." Vanessa figured she could give her mom the key and stay in her room. That would be fine. She knew that Starla was trying to check up on her for Zac. That thought made the tears start flowing even more freely.

Starla could hear Vanessa almost whimpering as she passed the phone to Gina. Vanessa turned her back to her mother and curled up again as she cried into her pillow. Gina rubbed her daughter's back as she spoke again to Starla. "It's really easy to find our place from Zac's." And she proceeded to give Starla directions.

"I'll be there in three hours." Starla said softly and then hung up the phone.

----------------------------

It had only been about a half hour since Starla talked to Zac but she decided to call him back to ease his mind a little. Zac snapped open the phone on the first ring. "Mom, what'd you find out?"

"I talked to her Zac. She sounds tired. I think she has worn herself out from crying." Starla knew it was a mistake to tell him that part.

"I should be there with her. She should not be going through this alone. Dammit!" Zac cringed after cursing knowing his mother had been the victim of his outburst. "I'm sorry mom. I just don't know what to do!"

"Zac, we've talked about this. You need to stay and do what you need to do there. This may be the hardest thing in your life to do. We both know that you don't run from a challenge. You face it head on. But you've got two challenges right now Zac and you can't face them both at the same time. I'm giving you my best advice when I tell you to handle the challenge where you are first and then come home and deal with this one." Starla hoped he would listen to her advice.

"Did she say anything mom…about breaking up with me? Did she really mean that we're 'done'? Did you tell her that I love her?" Zac was again close to tears.

"I haven't gotten to those subjects with her yet Zac. I don't even know if she'll talk to me about them. I will tell her that you love her when I see her. I'm on my way to L.A. right now. It's going to take a little bit. She did say that she misses you." Starla added.

Zac felt a ray of hope in those words. "She did? She didn't curse me or anything?"

"No, she said that she misses you. Now Zac you need to go and try to get some sleep. I know that you need to be up in just a couple of hours. You call me whenever you can in the morning. Don't worry about what time it is. I will give you whatever update I can at that point. Okay?"

"I still don't think I can sleep, but I'll try. I love you mom." Zac yawned.

"I love you too sweetheart."

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