As is always the case, I own nothing. I hope to change that one day...

Chapter 3

That day had been a boring one for Stella. After searching her sister's pantry for something to fix for lunch, Stella finally settled on a simple pack of Ramen Noodles. Not the healthiest of meals, but this was Vanessa's house after all. She'd be lucky to find some lunch meat for a sandwich, let alone even a carrot that wasn't specified for Shadow's special treat time. The only time Vanessa had any healthy food in her kitchen was when their mother provided it, or even Zac. She stood on her tip toes to grab a pot off the pot rack that hung above the island in the middle of the kitchen and added the required amount of water and placing it on the stove top to boil. She then walked back into the walk-in pantry and grabbed one of the five boxes of Wheat Thins that no doubt her sister's boyfriend had provided. That was his favorite snack and he always managed to have at least two or three boxes available to him no matter whose house he'd be at- his own, Vanessa's, his parents, or even the Hudgens. It was for that reason that Stella felt no remorse at eating some of his crackers. She walked out of the pantry with her mouth full and was greeted by the sight of her sister. Taking in her solemn, distressed face, Stella put the box of Sundried Tomato and Basil flavored Wheat Thins down on the counter and held her arms open as an invitation to the person who's not only been her sister, but also one of the best friends she's ever had. When Vanessa's heart broke, so did Stella's.

Vanessa slowly walked into Stella's waiting arms and accepted comfort from the fifteen year old. After a moment of silence, except for Vanessa's sniffles, Stella finally pulled back and looked in Vanessa's eyes.

"How are you?" Stella asked, not sure what else to say.

Vanessa gave a small shrug. "I don't know, Stellz. I'm finding it hard to believe that he would just go and do something like that, but I can't quite bring myself to talk to him yet. I'm not sure why. I mean, I want to, but…" she said, letting her voice trail off with another shrug as the emotions began to take over once more.

Stella gave an understanding nod. "Do you want something to eat?" she asked, not sure what else to say.

"No, thank you. I'm not very hungry." Stella's phone began to ring, breaking the moment the two sisters shared. They turned to look at the offending object that was making the annoying sound before Stella made a move to answer it. Stella reached over and picked it up and, upon seeing their parents' home number on the screen, pushed the green accept button and lifted the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Stellz," Greg Hudgens responded.

"Hi, Daddy," she greeted.

"How are you two doing over there? You girls having fun?" he asked, carefully. If he had seen the pictures, then he was sure his first born had seen them, too, and was without a doubt having a hard time. He pumped his youngest for information without letting them know directly what his intentions were.

"Um, we're doing okay. We were just about to find some lunch. What's up?"

"Is Vanessa bringing you home later?"

"Hang on. I'll ask her," she told him as she pulled the phone away from her ear and faced Vanessa. "Dad wants to know if you'll be taking me home later, or do they need to come get me?" she asked.

"I can take you, I suppose. It won't hurt to get out of the house for just a little bit," Vanessa told her, still sounding miserable.

"Dad, Nessa said she can bring me home. Is there a certain time you need me back by?"

"Soon. A certain time, no. Just soon. Your mom and I want to talk to her when you two get here."

"Great," she muttered. "Okay, I'll let Nessa know. We'll be there soon," she told their father.

"Thanks, Sweetie. We'll see you soon."

When Stella put her phone back on the counter, she turned to face Vanessa with an anxious look on her face.

"What?" Vanessa asked, suddenly worried. Their dad always seemed to make the private moments in his daughters' lives the most important, family meeting worthy instances.

"He said he wants to talk to you when we get there."

"I had a feeling that was coming. About what?" Vanessa asked.

"He didn't say…" Stella said slowly.

"Well, alright then," Vanessa started, letting out a breath. "Why don't you hurry up and eat and I'll go get dressed. The sooner we get there, the sooner this 'talk' of Dad's will be over," she said while rolling her eyes, using air quotes to express her frustration at her father's desire to have an "important discussion"- as he often referred to these moments- when one was apparently not needed. At least, not in her opinion.

Stella turned back to the noodles cooking on the stove and poured them into a bowl to be eaten, while she waited on Vanessa to come back downstairs. She looked up as she heard her sister's footsteps descending the stairs and saw her dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a tank top. She had her favorite brown hat sitting on her head and a pair of brown sandals on her feet. She walked to the counter and picked up her purse and keys and faced Stella.

"Are you ready?" she asked, watching as Stella put her bowl in the sink and ran some water in it to let it soak.

"Yeah, let me grab my bag." When Stella came back downstairs, the two girls walked out the front door and in the direction of Vanessa's black Audi convertible. Vanessa was not at all surprised to see the few paparazzi camped outside her house. If the pictures had made the internet, it would only have been a matter of time before they found her. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Vanessa put her head down and looked at the ground to try and avoid their bothersome questions. The press, however, was not fooled by her attempts and managed to get some questions out after all.

"Vanessa, how did it feel to see the pictures of Zac kissing that other girl?"

"Does this mean that you two are over? Has Zac moved on?"

The two girls reached Vanessa's car and climbed in, ready to begin the ten minute ride to their parents house. When they got there, Vanessa used her key to let themselves inside and immediately upon entering, the two could feel the seriousness in the air and were suddenly worried about their father's sudden need for this unnecessary conversation with Vanessa.

Okay, this feels weird. What's going on? Vanessa wondered to herself.

"Mom, Dad? We're here," Vanessa called out, letting their parents know that they were finally there only to be met by silence.

"Daddy?" Stella tried. "Where are you guys?"

Greg and Gina Hudgens slowly came into the family room and the two girls could see their father holding some papers in his hands.

"Hi, girls," their mom greeted them.

"Hey, Mom," Vanessa approached Gina and gave her a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Sweetheart," Gina answered her, returning the hug.

Vanessa then turned to her dad and approached him, only to stop in her tracks when she saw the look in his eyes. "Daddy? What's going on? The look on your face has really got me worried."

Greg looked Vanessa in her eyes and took note of the redness, the puffiness, the evidence of the tears she had spent most of the day shedding. He set the papers down on the coffee table and placed both of his hands on her cheeks and held her head steady.

"Daddy?" she tried again.

"I just- you know what, never mind. Vanessa, sit down. Stella, go upstairs please."

"What? Dad, why can't I stay?" Stella asked, only to receive a stern look from their dad. "Fine," she scoffed and stormed upstairs.

"Vanessa, sit," Greg repeated.

"Um, okay," Vanessa responded, her voice laced with confusion. She tried to move, but Greg still had a hold of her face. "Dad? Can you let go? I can't move when you're holding me like this. It's kinda creepy."

Greg pulled his hands from his daughter's face and she moved to take a seat on the couch. Gina came and sat next to her, taking one of Vanessa's hands in her own. Greg began pacing the length of the den, rubbing his hand over the lines in his forehead which had appeared throughout the years. Those lines of worry always appeared to be more prevalent when one of his three girls were in trouble in some way. This day was no different.

"Mom?" Vanessa leaned over and whispered in her mom's ear.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Is Dad okay?"

Gina responded not with words, but with a simple, loving pat on her oldest daughter's hand which she held clasped in her own. She offered Vanessa a small smile in an effort to try and cheer her up, and Vanessa gave her mom a puzzled look in return.

I think it's official, she thought to herself. My parents have cracked. She let her gaze fall to the coffee table and noticed the papers that her dad had set there a few moments earlier. Suddenly, a thought dawned on her as her eyes grew wide with realization. Oh, my God. They know. They've seen the pictures! Finally, Greg cleared his throat before speaking.

"Vanessa," he started, "your mom and I wanted to talk to you about what's going on with Zac."

Vanessa rolled her eyes and struggled to fend off the tears she felt- once again- begin to appear in her brown orbs. She let out a sigh of frustration and pulled her left hand from her mom's right and crossed her arms across her chest as she turned her eyes to stare at a spot on the floor.

"Vanessa, you need to talk to him. Find out what happened."

"I know what happened, Dad. He kissed another girl," she snapped.

"You don't know the whole story, Sweetheart," Gina told her.

"I know enough, Mom."

"Vanessa-" Gina continued, being cut off by Greg.

"Vanessa, you're being unfair by not talking to him," Greg continued.

"How do you know that I haven't talked to Zac?" she questioned.

"I called him this morning."

"You called him?" she exclaimed. "Why is it any of your business?"

"Watch your tone, Vanessa Anne. Now you listen to me," Greg commanded, pointing a finger in the direction of his eldest daughter in the way that only a father can. "I called him today because we wanted to be certain of the real story before we let out minds run crazy."

"Too late for that," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that, Sweetie?" he mom spoke up.

"Nothing."

"Vanessa, you're twenty-one years old-" Greg tried to continued.

"Thank you for the newsflash, Dad," she interrupted.

"Vanessa, you're twenty-one," Greg tried again, fending off his daughter's semi offensive tone. "You're supposedly in a mature, adult relationship. Am I right?" Her sniffle echoing through the room told him that he had managed to hit a nerve which was still raw from that morning's news flash which came to her courtesy of the ever present internet. Greg looked her in her eyes and noticed the moisture that was beginning to appear. He crossed the room and sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch where Gina and Vanessa were sitting.

"Supposedly," she said softly, still trying to fend off the all too familiar tears.

"When your mother or I do something that the other finds hurtful or stupid, we sit down and talk it out. That's what a relationship is supposed to be about. That's what an adult relationship is about."

"What are you saying, Dad?" she asked.

"I'm saying that you need to talk to him. Give him a chance to explain everything. Make him think that you still love him and haven't given up on him. On you two."

"Dad, I haven't given up on him. I do still love him," she admitted, her voice cracking.

"Then why aren't you talking to him?" Greg challenged her.

"I have my reasons."

"What are they?"

"Dad, I just-" she started, and then stopped, letting her mouth close.

"You just what?"

"I…" she tried again, letting her voice trail off. Vanessa felt Gina reach out and take her hands once again, trying to soothe her eldest daughter.

"Vanessa, you can tell us," she tried to coax her.

"You guys wouldn't understand," she told them tearfully.

"Try us, Sweetheart," Gina told her softly.

Vanessa sat there for a moment letting her tears fall quietly once again. She'd lost count of how many times that day she'd cried. Just when she thought her tear ducts had all dried up…

After watching Vanessa sit there quietly for a long moment- her sniffles being the only sound she let out- Greg finally softened and moved from the coffee table, coming to sit on the other side of her, taking her in his big teddy bear arms and pulling her to him. She allowed herself to relax into her Daddy's embrace and rested her head on his chest. He gently rocked her back and forth like he would do with her when she was just a young child, running his hand through her long brown locks.

"Shhh. Baby V, whatever it is that's going on between you two can be fixed. It always has been."

"Daddy, whatever has gone on in the past that Zac and I ever argued over has never been this bad. All of our arguments have always been over petty things that we've always seemed to work out within minutes. This is not something petty. This is more than that."

"If that's the case, Vanessa, then call him and talk to him," Greg tried once again.

"Daddy…" she started.

"What?"

She sighed, trying to get her thoughts in order before continuing. Suddenly, she reached her hand up to wipe away her tears and worked to compose herself as she stood up from her position on her Mom and Dad's couch.

"I can't do this now. I've got rehearsal. I've gotta go. Tell Stella I said bye and that I'll see her soon." She walked out the door, leaving her parents staring behind her, wondering what caused the sudden change in the demeanor of their first born.

Vanessa was not surprised to see that the paparazzi had once again followed her to her parents house. When they started once again firing questions at her about her relationship with Zac, she looked at them and- despite her temporary depression- managed her most brilliant smile and gave them a small wave in hopes of distracting them and taking their minds off their current assignment. She climbed behind the wheel of her car and made the forty-five minute drive to the Hollywood Bowl Theatre for her 'Rent' rehearsal.

Something to take my mind off everything…

There was one thing that Zac always turned to to help him clear his mind- surfing. That's where he and Dylan were today. The two had decided to head back out to the beach to get some more surfing in and Zac had hoped to make sense of everything. That did not seem to be the case for today, however. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but keep re-playing his conversation with Stella over and over in his mind.

"She told me that she needed to think…" he repeated the words spoken by his girlfriend's sister to himself. The same words that caused his breathing to hitch in his throat and his heartbeat to rapidly increase. It's never good when she thinks, he told himself with a sigh, as he spotted the perfect wave coming his way and turned his board around in the water before pushing himself to stand on his feet and quickly gain his balance.

"…I think the pissed turned into hurt." He soon lost his balance and felt the surfboard slip out from under his feet as he fell to the water below. Luckily with the wrist strap attached to his body, the board didn't go far.

So she's not angry. She was but isn't anymore. That's a good thing, right? Although I'm not sure which I'd rather have… an upset Vanessa or an angry Vanessa. It's a toss up, he thought with a shake of his head.

"Dude, everything alright over there?"

Zac looked over to his right and saw his brother wading in the water next to his own rented board.

"You look a little out of sorts," Dylan said to him.

"Really? I can't imagine why," Zac responded with sarcasm lacing his voice. "It's not like I have anything going on right now. I'm the picture of relaxation, don't you think?"

"Okay, so she didn't call before we came out here. Why we go back up to our stuff and you can check your phone again and see if she called. I know you want to." Zac shot his brother a look of annoyance which quickly softened.

"Fine," he said. "I would be very surprised if I have anything from her."

The two brothers picked up their boards and made their way back up the sandy beach toward their belongings. Zac reached into his backpack and retrieved his phone, seeing that he had two voice mails and one text message. He punched in his pass code and listened to his voice mails first.

"Zachary, this is Mom. Sweetheart, what happened? Have you lost your mind? Your father and I are beside ourselves wondering and worrying. We want you to call us as soon as you can. And honey, what about Vanessa? Please call us. We love you boys and we hope you both are having fun, considering everything. We'll talk to you soon."

Zac let out a sigh as he hit the number one to delete the message from their brought the phone back to his ear in time to hear the beep before his second message started to play.

"Zachary David Alexander Efron! I swear to you, if these pictures hold any truth to them, you better hope I get held over in Toronto with filming! I'm telling you, Efron, if you hurt her, I'm out for blood and you know I'm not joking! Call me!"

Zac let out another sigh, this time one with a sense of irritation, as he deleted the message from Ashley. He went to turn his phone off before another yellow envelope in the upper right corner of his phone screen caught his attention.

"Well?" Dylan asked him.

"Nothing from her. One voice mail from Mom, one from Ashley."

"What did they say?"

"Mom wants us to call her, Ashley threatened my life."

"Dude, you know it's serious if Ashley's threatening you. She doesn't play!" Dylan exclaimed, receiving a glare from his older brother.

"Gee, Dyl, thanks for the support!"

"Sorry, man. Hey, what about that text?" he asked, pointing out the fact that Zac had yet to read it. Zac opened it up and read it out loud to Dylan.

"It's from Jason," he said, referring to his manager. "'Zac, what's going on? Call me. Do we need to set up damage control?' Is he for real? 'Damage control'?"

"Dude, if it's gotten that out of hand that your manager's thinking about possible damage control, do you think E News will have this story?"

Zac held up his hand, giving his brother a look. "I don't need to think about that right now. I need to talk to her. I'll see you back a the room." Zac stood and gathered up his towel and put it in his backpack, throwing it over his shoulder. He then picked up the surfboard and carried it back to the rental shed and turned it back in. Dylan watched as Zac made his way back across the sandy beach in the direction of their hotel. As his brother disappeared out of sight, he got his own cell out of his bag and found the entry he was looking for in his address book. Hitting 'send', he brought the phone to his ear and waited patiently.

"Hello?" he heard on the other line.

"Hey, SnL. How's it goin'?" he asked.

"Are you seriously asking me 'how's it goin'? Surely you of all people know the answer to that, Dylan," Vanessa told him.

"Well, yeah, I do. But I thought maybe I could talk to you for a minute?" he asked hopefully. This is the only chance. Maybe if I talk to her and tell her what happened…

"Dylan, you know I always want to talk to you. But now's not a good time. I'm at rehearsal right now. We just happened to be on a break and I heard my phone. I really can't talk right now. I'll talk to you guys when you get home, okay? Have fun."

Before Dylan could respond, she ended the call. It didn't go unnoticed by him the sarcasm in her voice as she said the last sentence.

"Have fun…"

If only she knew how much fun he was currently having by walking on egg shells around his brother…

It was around 6:00 when Vanessa's rehearsal was finished for the day and, after stopping through the Arby's drive through, she made the drove back to the beach house in Malibu that she and Zac had found to share for the summer. Before he left for Hawaii, they were trying to decide on whether or not they should put in an offer to buy it and keep it as a get away place, or just turn the keys back over to the rental agency that they had gone through at the end of the summer. By the time she got to their temporary home, it was almost 7:00, so she sat down in the den and turned on the plasma television that Zac had insisted they have installed- never mind they would only be there for three months; "I have to be able to watch the college World Series when it's on at the end of June" was his argument- to the E Network.

Time for E News, she thought to herself. Let's see who Ryan and Giuliana talk about tonight.

Vanessa enjoyed her roast beef sandwich and curly fries as she watched the main stories being discussed. Lindsey Lohan and Charlie Sheen with their recent legal issues, Sandra Bullock and her adopted baby Louis out on the town, of course the Kardashian sisters in Miami… all of these stories were a tiny bit interesting to Vanessa, but it wasn't until their 'Sightings' segment that her interest was really piqued.

"And in Hawaii this week, Zac Efron is being honored with the Shining Star Award at the 2010 Maui Film Festival," she heard Giuliana Rancic's voice say as it came through the speakers of the television. She glanced up and saw the picture of her boyfriend dressed in his khaki pants and white shirt as he accepted his award and immediately felt the all too familiar proud grin spread across her face. Despite the up and down turmoil of that day, she was still proud of him and felt giddy just thinking of him getting such a prestigious award. "We think he's looking pretty good in Maui, but why is his younger brother with him instead of Vanessa?"

"Vanessa's got a really busy, really tight rehearsal schedule this week and couldn't make it. We made the decision together for me to bring my brother along as his high school graduation gift and he and I have been having a blast so far this week. I'm glad we're getting the chance to spend some time together before he goes off to college," Zac told the reporter on screen.

"It's okay, Zac. Seems like younger brother Dylan has been enjoying himself as well," Giuliana continued, as a picture of the grinning Efron brothers appeared on the screen. "And he seems to be following your lead in the looks department. Looking good there, Dylan." Vanessa just shook her head as she imagined the cocky look Dylan would most likely have on his face had he been sitting there listening to that as well.

She had almost started to somewhat feel better when she heard the introduction to the infamous "So True, So False" segment. This was the one segment that always sent Vanessa into a turmoil of emotions. She never knew what to expect from this segment. That night, however, she was not the least bit surprised by the first story involved.

"We mentioned earlier that Zac and his brother are in Hawaii this week, but does this picture of him kissing another woman at a local Tommy Bahama's reveal that the supposed reason he gave for Vanessa not being present by his side was just a cover up? Has the Hollywood super couple called it quits and has Zac set a record for moving on? This one we're so not sure about. As of air time, we've still been unable to reach representatives for either side of the couple for a statement."

Vanessa shook her head in amazement. "They will latch on to anything. I'm not surprised they got the picture, but seriously, Ryan? Are you really going to believe that, or is that just something you're reading off the teleprompter?"

She sat there for a minute having an inner battle with herself. She had still yet to decide what she was going to do. She knew she needed to talk to him, but for some reason she felt she should wait until he got home. She still felt the need to let him know something, however, so she reached for her phone, pulling up her text message screen. Vanessa sat for a moment trying to decide what she wanted to say, and then finally she had her mind made up and started typing. She knew that as soon as he read her message, he would know what she meant as he had gotten hooked on E News as well and the two of them watched it every night together. If they were separated, like now, then they would still watch it separately.

"Zac," she began to type out "it's false. We'll talk soon." After reading over it four times to make sure there was nothing subliminal and he couldn't read more into it than she intended, Vanessa was pleased with the message. She felt it said just what she wanted it to without saying too much. She didn't, of course, want to lead him into thinking anything one way or the other until they had the chance to talk in person. She just hoped that he understood what she meant as well. She took a deep breath and hit send and proceeded to flip through the channels, determined to find something else to watch, finally having enough of E News for the evening. Once she found a re-run episode of That 70's Show, she took another bite of her sandwich and settled in for an evening of Fez, Hyde, Jackie, and the gang.

Soon, she told herself. We'll talk soon.