Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.

Now…On with the story!!!

Chapter 6 – Hold On Tight, Things Could Change In A Second

Zac smiled as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He kept replaying in his head what had happened in the laundry room with Vanessa and now, even a day later, it was still amusing. The cast would be coming back in two days now and Zac started wishing he would have come back earlier to have more time with Vanessa. It felt so natural just being with her and not having people around them forcing them to be more than they were.

Today they were going to go for a picnic lunch outside and went their separate ways to get ready about an hour ago. Both of them promised never to close the connecting door just in case they needed each other. Zac threw on his shirt and pants and walked over.

"Nessa, I'm coming in." he said and walked into the room with his eyes closed.

"Okay my eyes are closed, stop me if I shouldn't open them."

Still no answer. He opened his eyes to reveal the empty room and the soft sound of the shower running on the other side of the bathroom door. But there was another sound coming from the bathroom, a sound he recognized instantaneously because it was his own voice.

Once in a lifetime means there's no second chance

So I believe that you and me should grab it while we can

And then it was her turn and he heard her, singing in the shower along with him. It was her voice, no mixes, no studio edits, just her and she was beautiful.

Make it last forever

And never give it back

He sang with his own voice outside the door.

It's our turn and I'm loving where we're at

Then their voices mingled together.

Because this moment's really all we have

Everyday of our lives

Wanna find you there wanna hold on tight

Gonna run while we're young

And keep the faith

Everyday from right now

Gonna use our voices and scream out loud

Take my hand together we will celebrate

Celebrate

Everyday…

Zac listened to Vanessa singing and giggling from in the shower. Of all the songs to listen to, she listened to theirs and it made him happy. He decided to sit on the couch and watch TV quietly until she was done. Sure enough, 15 minutes later, he could hear the shower stop and the music lower.

"Nessaaaaaaaaa!"

Vanessa heard his voice and she knew he was warning her that he was in the room. She smiled, knowing he heard her singing Everyday.

"Zaaaaaaaaaac!"

"I'm watching your TV."

"Okay!" she giggled and walked out of the bathroom in a fluffy pink robe drying her hair with a towel. She picked out some clothes from in her drawer and retreated to the bathroom again, coming back out after a quick change.

"What's on? Ooh! Was that Laguna?"

She sat beside him as he flipped through the channels.

"No."

"Yes it was, go back!!"

Vanessa leaned over to grab the remote from his hand but he pulled it away to where she couldn't reach it. She reached further but he only looked at her and laughed when she couldn't grasp the remote from his hand. Vanessa started to laugh as well as she reached further, her hand naturally placing itself on his chest.

"Zaaaaaaaaaac!"

"Nesssssssss!"

Zac watched Vanessa laugh happily even though she could not retrieve the remote from his hands. He knew she was just happy to be there with him, and likewise he was happy to be there with her. When she pulled away he found himself wishing he had given the remote to her, just to keep her close.

"Okay, okay, don't give it to me. Let's just go for our lunch." She said, still smiling at him.

Zac turned off the TV and followed her out of the room and onto the big balcony where a blanket and basket laid on the floor. They sat down and Vanessa pulled out cups, juice, and sandwiches from the basket.

"I feel like Troy right now," Zac said.

"You look a lot like him," Vanessa teased.

He shuffled closer to her.

"That's funny, you look a lot like his pretty girlfriend."

"Do I now?"

"Yeah, it's actually scary how much you resemble her."

"Well as long as she's pretty, I don't mind."

As if on cue, they both looked at each other and Vanessa could see Zac's expression had turned from playful and teasing to soft and serious.

"She's gorgeous."

The words came out in a whisper because they were so close to each other. Vanessa could smell the cologne he used and the electric blue in his eyes drew her in.

Zac could feel Vanessa shiver when his hand brushed up to touch her arm and she dropped her eyes.

Why did I do that? he asked himself.

Why did I do that? she asked herself.

She was still looking at the floor as he spoke. "So umm…everyone gets back soon huh?"

"Yeah, then it's back to work."

"It's too bad, I was enjoying the relaxation."

"Zac?" her voice was small and innocent.

"Yeah?"

This was the perfect moment for Vanessa to tell Zac her feelings and she knew it. Being outside, sun shining, picnic lunch, and Zac sitting there hanging onto her every word. She wanted to say it, she really did, and even more she wanted to just wrap him in a hug but she knew she couldn't. Instead, she kept to herself and took the safe route.

"I'm cold, can we go inside?"

But she wasn't cold, how could she be under such a hot sun? He gave her a warm smile and nodded, cleaning up their lunch.

After stepping inside and taking a seat on the couch, Vanessa watched Zac begin to wash their cups in the sink.

"Who knew you were a cleaner?" she teased and he stuck his tongue out at her.

Watching him at the sink, Vanessa started to think about them as Troy and Gabriella. How could they act on set as the perfect couple and not actually be a couple? Troy and Gabriella were a model for what she wanted to have with Zac, but she wanted it to be their own. She closed her eyes and imagined being with Zac, holding his hand without question, and him telling her he loves her. Imagining his blue eyes looking at her as if they were going straight through her body was all she needed to know he meant it. Those eyes, his perfect eyes. All the thoughts swirling around in her head kept Vanessa from realizing Zac was now done the dishes and was making his way over to sit with her on the couch.

He plopped himself down, mumbling that he hated washing dishes but it was only when his hand made a soft touch her leg that she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Hey V, you okay?"

"Yeah, of course, fine." She looked a little disoriented, keeping her eyes straight ahead, and he didn't look convinced.

"You sure?"

"Mmhmm."

"...Okay."

She was trying not to look at him because she knew if she did her eyes would look straight into his. Vanessa didn't want to be vulnerable to Zac, she already knew he wasn't interested.

"Ness…"

"Mmm…"

His hand slid over to hers, which was sitting on her lap and he grabbed it protectively, moving closer to her.

"Why won't you look at me?"

Vanessa didn't make a sound but he sat there waiting for an answer. She wanted to tell him it was too hard to look at him knowing they were just friends but she didn't, it would have made it harder knowing he didn't feel the same, so she gave in, finally turning her head and looking up at him beside her. His eyes looked worried, something she had never seen before when he looked at her and his hand came up to cup her face and brush her cheek with his thumb.

"Zac…" It was the second time today he heard her speak his name so softly.

"Ga—Vanessa…"

Her eyes widened and she pulled his hand off her face.

Oh shit Zac, why did you do that?? He asked himself. If there was any hope of getting closer to Vanessa he just blew it by almost calling her Gabriella.

"I think you should go Zac." She said. "Enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

Zac nodded silently and got up off the couch, retreating back to his room and closing the connecting door behind him. He figured she wanted some time alone and he was right. As soon as she heard the door fully close, tears ran down Vanessa's cheeks. Everything was going so well and he had to ruin it by pretty much forgetting her name.

Why did he do that? Why did always make her think they could be more than friends and then just drop her down like that? Vanessa tucked herself into her bed and cried herself into a nap, wishing she could just sleep through the rest of filming.

---

**TWO DAYS LATER**

---

It was as if nothing had happened, everyone was back and Zac and Vanessa hadn't talked in two days. Ever since the day they had their picnic, Vanessa had been so hurt when thinking of Zac, she didn't want to even bother starting a conversation. Zac on the other hand didn't want to hurt her more, so he didn't bother either. No one had really noticed they were trying to keep away from each other because they didn't make it noticeable in front of them in rehearsals. Kenny had kept this as a day for them to refresh their memory before filming started up again the next day.

The entire cast gathered in the rehearsal space and went over each dance to make sure everyone got it right. Zac and Vanessa danced in partners as if nothing had changed. Vanessa liked getting the chance to be close to Zac even though she was still upset for what happened. Every time Zac pulled Vanessa into him with a dance move, he wanted to tell her sorry for what he did but he knew it wouldn't be right, not in front of everyone.

Once the rehearsal was done, everyone went their separate ways back to their rooms. Before Vanessa and Zac had a chance to leave, Kenny called out to them.

"Zac, Vanessa, I need you to stay for me, I want to work on a scene with you guys."

They turned back and walked to Kenny who looked excited about the scene.

"Alrighttt," Kenny said walking towards them. "So now that everyone's gone let's take some time and work on the scene for tomorrow."

Both Zac and Vanessa looked confused.

"Uh…Kenny you still haven't told us which scene you're talking about." Zac said.

"Exactly, because we just wrote it."

"You added in another scene?" Vanessa asked.

"Yep, I talked to everyone at Disney and the writers and I came together and we agreed that adding in another scene would be important for Troy and Gabriella." Kenny explained.

"Okay so what are we rehearsing?"

"Troy and Gabriella's first kiss."

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

R&R!!