Okay, before anyone gets their panties in a twist, let it be known that "Bandslam" does come out in March and "Beastly" is slotted for a July release. For the sake of the story, however, -it'll all make sense soon- they both come out in March. Also, I've had my wisdom teeth out, so there is some reality to this chapter. Once again, I don't own anything in this story... except the hygienist.

Chapter 4

The days that followed were a blur for Zac and Vanessa. The rest of February consisted of meetings for her, as the premiere of Beastly was quickly approaching as well as the DVD release of Bandslam, both within the last week of March and her manager Evan was ironing out all the kinks of her schedule. She had television appearances, radio interviews, photo shoots, and so forth coming up. Her calendar was jammed packed. Zac, on the other hand, had been approached with the possibility of a guest slot on a television program, and had been meeting with his manager Jason to perfect his own schedule.

Vanessa had used this busy time to push the Proposal That Never Will Be, as she was now calling it to herself, out of her head. While being busy gave her an excuse to not think about it, trying to not think about had become her number one priority at the present and therefore only resulted in causing her to be more distressed about the situation. The two of them have had a few tiffs over petty things over the past few weeks, like the time someone called the house and left a message on the answering machine and Zac deleted it by accident. That someone was Vanessa's mom and she ended up reaching Vanessa on her cell phone, so it ended up being no big deal in the long run, but Vanessa still made a bigger deal out of it than necessary. Zac of course didn't understand why Vanessa was being so moody for the past two and a half weeks and made the mistake of mentioning as much to Vanessa one afternoon in early March.

"Hey, why are you so moody?" he bravely asked, not looking forward to her response. He'd been down this road before and knew he was probably playing with fire, yet he was prepared for the outcome.

"I'm not moody!" she snapped at her boyfriend, who currently had his head stuck in the Xbox game he was playing, which only added to her annoyance. "And seriously, if you're going to sit here all day playing video games, could you at least put the dishes in the dishwasher first?"

"Oh, you're right, Baby. You're being your normal, bubbly, cheerful self," he said with a hint of attitude in his voice. She narrowed her eyes at him and let out a huff, which resulted in him pausing the game with a sigh and turned to face her. "Van, seriously, I love you, but you've been really moody and snappy since Valentine's Day and frankly, I'm sick of it! Now tell me what's going on!" he demanded, standing up and crossing the room to stand in front of her.

"It's nothing, Zac."

"It is something, Van. What's bugging you?" She gave him a withering look, before turning her back to him and walking towards the stairs.

"PMS, now leave me alone," was all she said before storming upstairs.

Zac raised his eyebrows skeptically, not buying her explanation for one second. He'd been with her long enough to know her "schedule" and also had seen the "evidence" of "it" the week prior in the bathroom trash can. That was when he knew something was indeed wrong. He took a deep breath walked upstairs to try and talk to her about it once again, and when he reached the bedroom and noticed the door closed, he reached his hand out to open it, only to find it locked.

That's odd, he thought to himself. She never locks the door unless there's something serious going on.

"Hey, Van?" he called out, tapping softly on the door. "Open up, Babe. I know it's not PMS." When he got no answer, he knocked again. "Van?" He listened closer and thought he heard a sniffle this time. "Baby, please open up! I can tell you're upset." He stood there for a moment, listening to her tears through the door, and took a couple of steps back when he heard her turn the lock of the bedroom door. When she finally opened the door, he took in her appearance and noticed the tears pouring from her eyes. He was just about to step forward and take her in his arms when she suddenly threw herself at him and mumbled something into his shoulder.

"Van, I can't understand you," he gently told her as he pulled her back a little. He looked into her deep brown eyes racked with hurt and his heart broke at the sight. He led her back into the bedroom and set her down in the armchair while he sat on the ottoman in front of her, taking both of her hands in his. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

"It hurts, Zac."

"What hurts?"

"My mouth," she told him quietly, almost embarrassed. "It hurts all over. I've seriously never felt this much pain before."

"Is that why you've been so moody and not sleeping lately?"

"Yeah," she admitted sheepishly. "I get comfortable and finally fall asleep, and then the pain kicks in again and wakes me up."

"How long has this been going on?"

"About two weeks," she mumbled.

"What?! Two weeks? Van!" Vanessa lowered her eyes, feeling the way she did when she had just been scolded by her father at the age of five. "Did you call the dentist?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've got an appointment for the day after tomorrow."

"Day after tomorrow? When did you call?"

"When it first started?" she said, with a questioning tone in her voice, hoping he'd believe it. When he just sat there staring at her, she could see that he was not going to fall for it and finally gave in. "Yesterday," she admitted ruefully.

"Oh, Baby, come here," he told her, gently pulling her to a standing position and sitting down in the chair. He guided her to his lap and let her just put her head down on his shoulder and held her. When her tears subsided, he finally spoke again.

"Have you been taking anything for the pain?"

"Just Tylenol, but it's not helping much," she softly told him.

"You know, it may be your wisdom teeth."

"I don't have time to have my wisdom teeth out! I've got interviews and premieres and stuff! I'm going to be leaving soon," she pointed out.

"Alright, then, I'll call for you and cancel your appointment and you can work through the pain," he said, trying to make a point. As he tried to sit up and reached for the phone, she grasped onto his shirt tightly and kept him from doing so.

"No!" she cried. "I guess I can make time if that's what it is. I mean, it's only, like, one day, right?"

"I think so. I'm not positive, though. I've still got mine."

"Yeah, rub it in, thanks," she snapped before the pain struck again. "Ow," she whispered, sniffling, and placed her hands on her cheeks, trying to rub out the pain. Zac merely placed his hands over her's and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and picked her up, carrying her to the bed. He set her on her feet and pulled the covers back, helping her into the bed before tucking her in.

"I'll go get you some more Tylenol. Try and get some rest."

"Okay," she said, as she snuggled down under the covers. He gave her one more kiss and turned to exit the room, closing the door behind him.

That Wednesday, Vanessa left the dentist's office with an appointment card in her hand. When she got back in the car, she immediately reached for her phone and hit speed dial 1. When the other person answered, they knew right away what happened.

"When is your appointment?" Zac asked

"Appointment for what?" she asked, trying to distract him.

"Van, I talked to Mom and she said that based on what you told me, it's definitely your wisdom teeth. Now, I can bet you anything- and will win- that the dentist gave you an appointment to have your wisdom teeth out. Am I right?"

"Yes," she woefully admitted to him.

"So, when's your appointment?" he asked again.

"Friday. Dr. Gambrell said the procedure is only about an hour and then I can go home and be recovering from there. I don't have to change anything in my schedule because I don't leave until Monday anyway. I won't be able to eat for about twenty-four hours, and after that, only soft stuff. I do have to come back a week later for a follow up to see how everything looks, which means Evan will be a mess rearranging stuff when I tell him."

"I'll make sure I'm there to take you. Don't worry about Evan. I'll take care of him."

"Okay. Anyway, I was just calling to let you know I'm on my way home. Are you at mine or your's?"

"I'm at mine. Are you coming by?"

"Yeah. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied before hanging up.

Two days later, Zac and Vanessa entered the dentist's office. She was nervous to say the least, and was glad Zac was there to be her support. As they sat in the waiting room, Zac just held her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her knuckles. When the hygienist called her name, she looked at him with panic in her eyes.

"Can I walk back with her?" he asked.

"Yes, of course!" the hygienist answered, smiling.

Zac stood, pulling Vanessa with him, and kept his arm across the small of her back as they followed the hygienist to the room.

"I'm Gabriella," the hygienist told them, with a small smirk. Zac and Vanessa shared a look and tried to hold in their laughter. "It's okay, you can laugh at the irony. I know you want to. I actually thought that, too, when I saw your name in the computer," she said, sharing a laugh with the other two in the room. When they recovered from the almost comical introductions, Vanessa finally took a look around the room before sitting in the chair and noticed a mask which will cover her face.

"What's that?" she asked timidly, pointing at the mask.

"That's the anesthesia. You're going to be put to sleep for this procedure, so you won't feel anything during," Gabriella reassured her. "Don't worry, Ms. Hudgens. We're going to do all we can to make this go a smoothly as possible for you."

"Thank you, and you can call me Vanessa."

Right at that moment, the door opened and all three turned to see another person enter the room.

"Vanessa," he greeted her.

"Hi, Dr. Gambrell. I'd like you to meet Zac."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Efron," he said as he reached out a hand to the younger man.

"Zac, please. Mr. Efron's my father."

The doctor proceeded to tell Zac about the procedure and what he and Vanessa could expect in the recovery process in the upcoming week.

"I know, Vanessa, that you've got a premiere coming up and appearances proceeding it, meaning that you'll be traveling. When do you leave?" Dr. Gambrell asked.

"Monday."

"You should be okay by then. I understand that your follow up appointment has to be rescheduled?"

"Only by a few days or so. I'll have Zac call and take care of that for me while I'm gone."

"Okay, that'll be fine. Now, Zac, once she's finally out- which will only take a few seconds being as small as she is- I'm going to ask you to step back out to the waiting room and Gabriella will come get you when I'm done. Any questions?"

When they both shook their heads no, Dr. Gambrell turned back to Vanessa.

"Are you ready to get this over with?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said in a small voice, reaching for Zac's hand, which he immediately took and gave a gentle squeeze. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be right here when you wake up, Baby," he told her lovingly.

"Okay, Vanessa, here we go." The doctor picked up the mask and placed it on her face.

"Now, can I just get you to count backwards from 100?" Gabriella instructed.

Vanessa took a deep breath and began. "100... 99... 98... 97..." by the time she reached 96, her pauses became further apart and by 92, her counting had stopped fully. Once Dr. Gambrell was certain that she was fully asleep, looked at Zac and gave a small nod. Zac gave her hand another squeeze and when he had let himself out of the room, Dr. Gambrell began his work.

While he was waiting, Zac had made a few phone calls- one to Greg and Gina, one to his own parents, and one to Evan. He had managed to get Vanessa's schedule rearranged so she would be back in LA sooner and only had to reschedule her appointment for three days later. He felt like he had only been in the waiting room for mere moments when Gabriella came to get him, but when he looked at his watch, he noticed it had been about fifty minutes.

After getting all of the care instructions and her prescription for the pain medicine, Vanessa was waking up slightly. He helped her into the wheel chair and went to pull the car to the back entrance- to avoid any paparazzi that may be lurking out front- as Gabriella met him with his girlfriend, who had again fallen asleep. He got out to help Vanessa into the car, and thanked Gabriella for all her help. As he was pulling away, he caught sight of one photographer coming around the bushes, apparently upset that the always popular Zanessa had once again been missed.

When they returned home, he carried Vanessa up the stairs and into the bedroom and got her settled in the bed so she would be more comfortable. He went back downstairs and into the kitchen and looked over the care instructions.

"Warm towels… I'll wait on those until she wakes up. Liquid diet for 48 hours… what would she want?" he said to himself. "Egg drop soup!" he exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. "She loves that!" When he hung up the phone after calling the Chinese restaurant up the road that the two of them frequented, he got another idea.

After checking his wallet to see if he had a five dollar bill, he made his way up the stairs and quietly snuck into her bedroom. He started searching through her jewelry box and found what he was looking for. He pulled out the small square box, opened it, and carefully took out the ruby ring that she wore to one of the many awards shows that they had been to. He then traded the ring with the five dollar bill from his wallet and gently set the ring in the jewelry box, and made his way back downstairs to wait on the egg drop soup.

When she started waking up, Vanessa noticed the sun sneaking in through the cracks of the closed blinds and looked at the clock on the bed side table. Seeing that it said 1:45, she sat up in bed, looking beside her for Zac. When she didn't see him, she opened her mouth to call out for him, only to immediately close it again.

"Ow," she said.

"Hurt?"

She looked up and saw Zac leaning against the doorframe watching her, holding a tray in his hand.

"How long have you been there?" she asked him as he came further into the room and scooted over to make room for him on the side of the bed. He carefully laid the tray on the bedside table and sat down.

"Since you woke up. I've got your medicine. It says that you're supposed to take it every four hours. I also ordered you some egg drop. Are you ready to try and eat?"

"I think so," she said, reaching for the two pills and glass of water that was sitting on the tray next to the cup of soup.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" he said suddenly, as Vanessa took a sip, causing her to choke on the water and spill a little. "Sorry," he apologized, as he got up to get a towel from the bathroom. He came back and started to wipe up the water that had trickled down her chin. Once she was cleaned up, he continued. "I got a little something for you to try and help you feel better."

"You did?"

"Mm-hmmm," he nodded, pointing to the small square box that rested on the tray. She was looking at his handsome face as she reached for the box, when she froze.

Wait, she thought to herself. A little something? Exactly how little?

"Van?" Zac noticed how she had frozen her movements. "What's that matter?"

Upon hearing his voice, she forced herself to snap out of her reverie and took the box in her slightly shaky hands.

"Um, no- uh, nothing. Nothing's the matter," she stammered. Way to go, Vanessa Anne. He doesn't think you suspect anything! Oh, no, you're the picture of coolness!

"Then why are your hands shaking?" he asked her confused.

"No reason!" she exclaimed, trying hard to cover up her suspicions. She slowly took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she opened the box. Vanessa let out the breath that she was holding and smiled as she looked down into the box to see the beautiful, shiny, diamond- five dollar bill? Her eyes knit together in confusion and her smile faded as she looked up at her boyfriend, who was looking at her with a smirk.

"Zac, that's a five dollar bill," she told him with a slight edge to her voice, taking the green paper out of the jewelry box and holding it up.

"Yeah, you know, like the Tooth Fairy! One dollar for every tooth you got pulled today, plus a little extra!"

"Zac?"

"Yeah?"

"It's not a-" She was about to tell him what was on her mind, but stopped when she looked in his eyes.

He looks so excited. He really thought his joke would make me feel better. She reached her hand up and ran her fingers through his hair, resting them on his cheek.

"Thank you. It was a really sweet thought," she said quietly. It could have been a lot sweeter, though.

"I'm going to go back downstairs, so you can rest. Here's the remote for the TV. Do you need anything? Oh, wait! There is one more thing." He stood up and walked into the bathroom again, only to return with two hand towels. "I'll be right back."

While he was gone, she allowed her mind to wander. I can't believe him! She pulled the throw pillow into her lap and held it, sulking a little as she angrily fingered the tassels hanging off the corner. A few minutes later he came back with the two towels. "The care instructions that were sent home with us said something about warm towels. I thought maybe they would help."

"Thank you," she told him again.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little, I don't know, bothered about something. Do you want to talk?" he asked her, with concern in his voice.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just going to eat and then maybe go back to sleep. Thank you again for my five dollars."

"Alright, well, if you're sure you're okay…" he started, as she gave him a pointed look.

"I'm fine," she said again. He picked up on the edge to her voice, and just stood up, leaned forward, and placed a kiss to her forehead.

"Then I guess I'll talk to you after awhile." He straightened back up and turned to leave the room. When he got to the door, he stopped, debating on if he was going to say more and dig deeper to find out the reason behind Vanessa's attitude. When he turned around and looked at her again, he noticed that she had turned on the TV and was flipping through the channels, looking a little perturbed.

Let it go, Zac. She'll talk when she's ready, he thought to himself. He continued out of the bedroom and made his way downstairs. He picked out a video game from the collection he kept at her house, inserted it into the PS3, and sat down on the couch. He was intent to let out all his frustration towards his girlfriend and her persistent attitude that she had been exhibiting lately, and in his mind, the world of video games was just the way to do so.