AN: New little story peeps. Nothing long or majorly important. Just a sweet little one-shot. Thanks to my awesome friend Mya for randomly putting some of these ideas in my head LOL

Disclaimer: This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring real people. The author is not affiliated, nor knows any of the following people - including their friends and family - on a personal level - Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Kenny Ortega, nor any other celebrity mentioned throughout this piece of work. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorized copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks.

When you say nothing at all

"It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
without saying a word you can light up the dark"

Heavy raindrops beat down on the open windowpanes as the wind squeezed its way into the warm house and bathed its occupants with its coolness. It was one of those rare days where nothing had to happen. No meetings, no photo shoots, no interviews. Nothing but what they felt like doing right then and there.

As the thunder cleared its throat in preparation for a louder roar, Zac Efron felt his girlfriend tense and looked down to where her head was resting in his lap. Her dark curls fanned out over his legs and he lovingly picked up a lock as her eyes connected with his. The smile she shot him was small, barely a twitch on the side of her mouth, but to him it spoke volumes. She was one of the most expressive people he had ever met, her emotions seemed to dance across her eyes, and there wasn't a secret she could hide from him.

Smiling slightly, he leaned forward and brushed a gentle kiss across her forehead before focusing his eyes on the script in his hand again. He wasn't sure how long they had been sitting like that; her head in his lap, both reading scripts while the TV had been set to some random music channel. His fingers lazily played with the silken strands of her hair until he needed to flip the page of his script. He treasured days like these. Days when it was just the two of them, and no one tried to butt in where they didn't belong.

That was one of the things that annoyed him the most about being famous. Everyone suddenly seemed to think that his private life should be plastered all over the net, and that because his name was Zac Efron they could snap as many pictures of him as they pleased at any given time of the day.

Truly private moments were something that almost felt rare and said moments were something he protected with everything he had.

Outside the storm had finally decided to make itself known, and a roar of thunder suddenly seemed to shake the house violently.

Vanessa whimpered at the sound and quickly turned her head so she could bury her face in his stomach. He chuckled warmly as he dropped the script on the armrest and gently stroked the back of her head with his right hand.

"I'm such a baby," she mumbled into his shirt before slowly reappearing so he could look at her. Zac merely shot her an amused glance and she giggled softly. It was a sound that never failed to make him smile. It had been years since he had first heard it, but even back then it had made his heart beat in a slightly faster rhythm.

"How about we put on a movie? That's bound to divert your attention from the thunder," he said as he let his fingers run through the silken strands of her hair again.

Vanessa bit her lip in thought and reached for his hand. Fingers entwined and danced around each other as tried to think of a movie they could watch. Suddenly her thumb came across a very dry patch of skin and she lifted the hand up so she could look at it.

"It's almost back to normal," she said in a low voice.

"Yeah, thank god, it was driving me insane."

"Driving you insane? You've never wiggled so much in your sleep in all the years I've known you…" she playfully teased before kissing the tip of his index finger.

"Yeah, yeah must have been horrible for you… don't feel bad for the guy who fell into poison oak or anything," he teased.

"Oh shush you! You should have brought a flashlight and you would have spared yourself several injuries on that camping trip."

Vanessa was one of those people who usually slept through the night without waking up. She could sleep through earthquakes and would, unless being deliberately woken up, sleep until she was ready to get out of bed.

It was the way it had always been, and everyone who knew her, knew that.

So when she suddenly shot up in bed, in the middle of the night, she was alarmed. The sleeping bag pooled around her waist as she scanned the small, dark space inside the tent. It took her a few seconds to realize exactly why she was in a tent in the middle of nowhere, but she quickly recalled the memories from the hike with Zac, Brittany and Ryan, and panic washed over her.

" Zac?" she whispered, scared that the noises she had heard had come from a mountain lion or a bear or some other animal capable of eating her. Exactly how Zac could protect her from a wild beast she wasn't sure, but she knew she wanted him awake.

"Zac!" her hand moved to shake him, but was met with an empty sleeping bag. Quickly reaching for her phone she pressed a few buttons and squinted her eyes at the bright light. Scanning the tent again she realized that she was indeed alone and that the outer door to the tent had been left unzipped.

"Zac!" she called out again, this time a bit louder. A faint "Fuck!" was the only reply she got and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Bending her knees she wrapped her arms around them and decided to simply wait for his return. Minutes ticked by before she finally heard footsteps approaching. The door was pulled aside and a very familiar, messy head of hair appeared in the opening. Turning the phone towards him, Vanessa saw his eyes blink in confusion as he carefully stepped in and closed both the bug screen and the door properly.

"What are you doing up, beautiful?" he whispered softly as he sat down next to her on the air mattress and brushed a curl away from her face.

"You woke me up…I thought you were some sort of bear or something…"

Zac chuckled quietly before leaning over so he could brush his lips against her bare shoulder. Vanessa tilted her head as he did so and gently let it rest against his.

"No bears, babe, just me having to pee."

She smiled into the darkness when she felt his arm wrap around her back and let him pull her closer towards him.

"Why did you swear out there?" she asked quietly.

"Stepped on something sharp."

"Let me see?"

"It's no big deal, Van," he said trying to brush it off.

"How do you know? It's far too dark to see anything out there. Just let me see if you're bleeding."

Her voice was laced with caring concern and he sighed as he gave in and quickly changed his position so that he could show her the underside of his foot.

Using the phone as a flashlight she grimaced when the soft light hit the sole of his foot.

"No big deal you say," she mumbled as she crawled out of her sleeping bag. "I wouldn't call that no big deal, Zac."

Frowning he looked down and did a double take when he saw exactly the reason why she was currently digging around in her backpack for the first aid kit she had been smart enough to pack. The cut wasn't big, far from it, but hot blood was currently streaming down his foot and onto the sleeping bag below. How he hadn't noticed before he wasn't quite sure, but he was happy Vanessa had wanted to check it out.

"Damn," he said. "It really doesn't hurt that much."

"Doesn't matter," she answered as she placed a cotton ball soaked in antiseptic against the cut. He hissed as a burning sensation shot up his leg.

"Hold it in place," Vanessa ordered as she reached for some baby wipes to clean away the blood that was coating the underside of his foot and various other items around them.

"I told you these would come in handy," she said and Zac shook his head in amusement. Vividly recalling the discussions they'd had over what Vanessa wanted to bring, and what he viewed as unnecessary.

"I'll never disagree with your packing abilities again," he chuckled as she gently rubbed at the blood that had already started to dry on his skin.

"Good. Is it still bleeding under there?" she asked and Zac gently removed the cotton ball so that she could see. The flow of blood had slowed, but not yet come to a complete stop and Vanessa quickly got a new piece of cotton for him to hold against the small gash.

"Does it hurt? It looks so painful," she said as she rummaged through the first aid kit to get an adhesive dressing to put on.

The tone of her voice had changed, and he knew she was no longer in her 'let's fix it' mode, but back to her usual caring self and a smile made its way onto his face.

"Surprisingly no, just the antiseptic hurts more than the actual cut. I never thought it would be this bad when it happened. I didn't even think it was bleeding."

"Well it was… let me put this on," she said and held up the dressing. He carefully removed the cotton ball, and with quick, gentle fingers she wiped the area dry before putting the dressing in place.

"There, all done," she said with a small smile before putting the blood soaked wipes in a plastic bag and grabbed a clean one to wipe her hands on. He followed her with his eyes the entire time, and felt an overwhelming sensation of adoration and pride at the fact that she was his.

"Vanessa?"

"Hmm?" she didn't turn around, but continued putting the items she had pulled out of her backpack back into it.

"I love you."

This time she turned around. His voice was so honest she nearly froze in her spot.

The three words had tumbled from his lips more times that she could count, but the raw honesty that coated the phrase this time made goose bumps travel up her arms.

It was pure, serious….laced with promises.

Biting her lip, she dropped the sweater in her hand and crawled towards him until they were face to face. Their eyes locked and both knew that words weren't needed, but she spoke them anyways.

"I love you too, so incredibly much."

Vanessa felt like she had just fallen asleep when she was woken up again. This time it wasn't any scary noises that were to blame. It was the fact that her boyfriend had managed to kick her once again. Zac was usually the quiet and calm sleeper out of the two of them. He'd pass out and wake up in the same position the next day. It was highly uncommon for him to be as wiggly has he had been for the past two hours.

Sighing in frustration Vanessa sat up and glanced down at the boy next to her. The sun had slowly started to rise outside, casting the inside of the tent in a faint yellow light.

He wasn't asleep. That was the first thing she noticed, that; and the fact that his face was scrunched up as if in pain.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a yawn.

"Did I wake you up?" was his reply; voice laced with guilt.

"Yeah, you kind of rammed your knee into my thigh."

"I'm sorry. I'm just so insanely itchy."

"Itchy?"

"Yeah, it feels like my entire upper body was attacked by mosquitoes or something."

"Let me see."

He did as he was told and carefully shimmied out of his sleeping bag and sat up.

The wide-eyed look and slight gasp from Vanessa was more than enough to confirm what he already suspected.

That bush he had stumbled into wasn't just a bush…. It was poison oak.

"Oh my god…" Vanessa said and reached for the flashlight so she could see get a better view. Turning the light on him she couldn't help but be shocked at the state f his chest. Blisters and a patchy, angry, red rash made its way up and around his body. His right hand looked as if it had been soaked in boiling water, and when she moved to look at his back she bit her lip in worry.

She had seen poison oak rash before, she had HAD poison oak rashes, but she had never seen it as bad as he currently had it.

A particularly angry spot caught her attention and she carefully reached out.

"No, Van. Don't touch it," he said firmly when he realized what she was about to do.

"But…"

"I don't want you to catch it."

"I highly doubt…"

"Just don't, Vanessa. Please?" his voice was pleading and she couldn't hear the pain that he was desperately trying to keep from her.

An overwhelming need to make it all better washed over her, and she desperately wanted to place soothing kisses on the bare skin that had yet to be attacked, but instead of doing so she let their eyes meet in silent communication.

She was worried about him. He knew she was, so he raised the hand that was rash free and gently stroked his fingers across her soft cheek.

"I'll be fine, baby," he said and she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth.

"I don't even know what you're supposed to do when you get poison oak," she admitted in an almost defeated voice.

"I think you're supposed to shower."

"Great….the one thing we don't have here."

"There's a lake…"

"Zac, you can't be serious…it's in the middle of the night."

"No it's not, the suns rising."

"If you want to go skinny dipping just do it, but shut the fuck up!" came Ryan's tired voice from the other tent and Vanessa couldn't help but giggle.

"We're not going skinny dipping, dude!" Zac answered.

"I don't care what you're doing…just be quiet."

"Ryan!" Brittany scolded and both Zac and Vanessa chuckled. Their friend was obviously not a morning person.

"What…"

"Be nice."

"I am… but it's 5 in the morning…"

"Believe me Ryan, I'd rather be asleep as well, but someone kicked me awake," Vanessa said and sent Zac a semi playful glare. Both knew she was more worried than mad.

"Kick him back," Brittany deadpanned and Vanessa giggled.

"I would, but I think he fell into a bush of poison oak. He looks as if someone emptied bucked of scalding water over him. He doesn't need more punishment."

"No way."

"Yes way."

"This I need to see," Ryan said, his voice suddenly sounding more awake.

The sound of rustling sleeping bags and zippers travelled through the air, and Zac raised his eyebrows at Vanessa.

"Thanks, Babe," he said sarcastically.

"It's not like they wouldn't find out…maybe they know what to do," she answered just as the doors were unzipped and Ryan poked his head in.

"Dude! I thought she was exaggerating. What did you do? Hug the tree?"

"Very funny….I think I walked into it actually," he said bashfully.

"If you were a boy scout you should hide your uniform… this is totally badge removal material," Ryan teased.

"V's an honorary girl scout," Zac said, hoping some of the attention would move away from him.

"I am, but I'm not the one with the rash am I?"

"I thought you were supposed to be on my side," Zac playfully whined.

"I'm not on anyone's side…just stating a fact," she shrugged and Ryan rolled his eyes at the pair.

"Oh come on, how horrible can it be?" Brittany's voice asked just as she appeared next to Ryan.

"Holy…pretty horrible apparently," she said with wide eyes once she had taken in the red mess that had invaded Zac's skin.

Vanessa glanced over at her friends and Brittany immediately noticed the slight panic in her eyes.

"You were right," she said. "You should go for a swim. Not that I think it's going to make the biggest difference, but that's what you're supposed to do apparently. Clean off and don't touch the clothes that may have the oils on it. In this case… boxers and sleeping bag."

"Dude, please tell me you didn't get it…"

"No!" Zac cut him off. "I do not have it there."

The girls simply ignored their boyfriends and carried on with their own conversation.

"How do you know all this stuff," Vanessa asked.

"Some random show on TV. Who knew that that would actually come in handy? I think he should probably see a doctor though, that outbreak is worse than any I've seen before."

"You think?" Vanessa's voice was laced with worry as her eyes darted over to look at Zac's flared up skin.

"Ness, he's not in danger, but I think he should seriously go jump into that lake… so off you go buddy! We'll start packing up in here and get breakfast going."

Vanessa shot Brittany a thankful smile before watching her boyfriend slowly make his way out of the tent. Maybe camping hadn't been the brightest idea after all…

Shaking her head slightly, Vanessa grinned up at her boyfriend. Looking back she knew she had overreacted slightly to his little run in with the poisonous leafs, but at the time his skin had looked as if it could burst if she as much as touched it. His obsession with Bear Grylls had obviously not taught him how to really survive in the woods. What could would filtering water do if he got blood poisoning from walking barefoot on rocks.

"Stop it," he said and poked her nose.

"I wasn't doing anything!"

"I can see the wheels turning in your head as you're mentally teasing me."

She gasped and swatted away the hand that was moving towards her cheek.

"I did no such thing," she giggled.

"Sure you didn't."

His eyes were gleaming and Vanessa shot him a teasing smile just as thunderclap shook the house and made her jump. Zac laughed and slid his palm down over her shoulder so he could squeeze her upper arm gently.

"I don't like storms," she mumbled.

"I know. How about that movie?" he asked all traces of the previous teasing gone.

Vanessa bit her lip in though before shaking her head gently.

"I think I'm comfortable right here," she said and turned slightly. Locking eyes with him she moved her hand so she could play with the buttons on his shirt, smiling as she felt his muscles contract at her touch. Zac simply smiled and traced the outline of her face with his fingertips as a lightning streak flashed across the sky.

There really was nothing like those lazy days when nothing had to happen.

"Try as they may, they could never define
what's been said between your heart and mine…"

AN: That's it :) Hope you liked it. Please let me know what you think.