Once again, as always, I don't own anything. But after seeing Zac at the Oscar's, I'd love to own him, haha.

Chapter 2

About thirty minutes later, Vanessa had already encountered three disagreements over decisions that their moms had made. Of course, each decision was more important than the one before and "if it isn't made within the next five minutes so we can call and make the reservation, then we'll miss out on this opportunity and you won't have it at the party". At one point during the conversation, she let her focus be drawn to the Dodger's game on the television that the four men were watching in the living room. No matter how hard her family tried, nothing could drown out the sound of the music blaring from her sister's room upstairs. All she wanted was a moment to go up and talk to her sister and find out what had caused her outburst from earlier. Surely there was something behind it, she thought to herself. While Gina and Starla were busy discussing the pros and cons of a buffet versus a sit down dinner, Vanessa let her head fall to the table on top of her left hand, wincing as she felt her forehead fall on top of the diamond that sat snuggly on her finger. She sat up, rubbing her head with her right hand.

"Ow," she moaned softly. Feeling a pair of hands softly rubbing her shoulders, she looked up over her shoulder to see her father standing there. "Hi, Daddy," she said.

"Just hang in there, Baby V. They'll be back to normal soon," he told her as he leaned down to place a kiss on top of her head. She opened her mouth to respond to Greg, only to be interrupted by her mom.

"Nessa, honey, what do you think? Chicken fingers on the buffet for the kids?"

Vanessa closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly in an effort to try and control her emotions before responding. Just as she was about to get frustrated and snap at the two mothers, she felt something stirring from deep within. She welcomed the feeling of the pressure on her bladder and took that as an opportunity for an escape, even if it meant she would only be able to stretch her legs for just a moment. In her opinion, any time to herself was welcome at this point, no matter how long it lasted.

"I'll be right back," she told Gina and Starla, who both just looked at her in disbelief.

"Where are you going?" Gina asked her oldest daughter.

"I'm going to the bathroom!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in disbelief. "Is that okay? Am I allowed to do that?"

"Of course, Sweetie. Just make it quick so we can look at the menu," Starla told her. She just stared at the two moms and heard a snort behind her. She turned and caught Zac's eyes, noticing the way that he was trying not to laugh. This was becoming more and more difficult for him, especially when he caught sight of Vanessa as she narrowed her eyes in warning at him. Throwing her hands up in the air, she rolled her eyes and walked in the direction of the bathroom.

While she was behind closed doors, Vanessa used that time to try and figure out how she was going to get away from her mom and future mother-in-law to go and talk to her sister. I don't need this right now. Why does Stella have to choose today, with everything else that's going on, to act like she did?

After taking care of her business and washing her hands, she opened the door to find her fiancé leaning against the wall across from the bathroom. When the two lovers looked each other in their eyes, Zac just held his arms open as an invitation, one that Vanessa was more than thrilled to accept. As she stepped into his arms, he brought them around her waist to pull her closer and hold her there as she wrapped hers around his waist. She felt him place a soft kiss to the top of her head and she let out a soft sigh.

"They love us?" she questioned, referring to the motives of their mothers.

"They love us," he answered. "I know it seems like they're being overbearing-"

"-but it's only for a short time. They'll be back to normal after the party, right?"

"Not only will they be back to their loving, will-do-anything-for-us, normal selves that we both know and love from both of our moms, but watching you go through this whole party planning bit has convinced me that we will be hiring a wedding planner. They will have nothing to do with the wedding planning process. Unless you ask their opinion on something."

"Unless I ask their opinion? Don't you mean we?"

"Baby, do you really want my help? Why not just tell me where to be and when?"

"We'll discuss that later," she told him.

"Yes, dear."

"Practicing getting out of trouble already?" she asked him with a giggle.

"Of course," he responded without hesitation, not trying to hide the smirk on his face. He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her lips. Vanessa placed her hand on the back of his neck to hold him there for a moment. The moment was broken by the sound of Starla's voice calling out for her.

"Vanessa? Sweetie, are you done? We need you back in here."

Reluctantly, Vanessa broke the kiss with a sigh and leaned her forehead against Zac's. "They love us?"

"They love us," he reminded her.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "I'm going back in the line of fire. Hey, have you talked to Stella yet?"

"I tried. I think either the music drowned out my knocking, or she was just flat out ignoring me. I'm not sure."

"What is she playing?"

"I don't know, I couldn't tell. Why?"

"Well, because the type of music she's listening to will give us a clue as to what her mood is. Don't guys do that, too?"

"Well, sort of, I guess. I don't know."

"I'll talk to her when I get a chance. Man, I can't believe her! Neither one of us have ever been that bold!"

"Really? Never?"

"No!" she told him. He just raised his eyebrows at her in response, questioning the validity of her statement, and she continued. "Babe, who's our dad?"

"Point taken."

"Thought so. Okay, I'm going back out there to face the firing squad. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," he told her with mock seriousness. "If you don't make it out alive, I just want you to know how much I love you," he told her as he gave her another kiss.

She smacked him on the chest and rolled her eyes. "Don't be a dork. I love you, too," she responded as she returned the kiss before walking away, leaving him standing in the hallway as she walked back to the kitchen table to join Gina and Starla in continuing the party plans. As Zac came around the corner emerging from the hallway, he sneaked a glance up the stairs once again. Deciding to try once again, he began to climb the stairs leading to the young teenager's room. As he got closer, the music stopped. He took the moment of silence as the perfect opportunity to knock.

"Go away!" came the muffled response of the troubled teenager.

"Stellz, it's me. Can I come in?" he asked hesitantly through the thick wood separating him from his fiancée's sister. He let out a relieved breath when she flung the door open.

"You are one half of the reason I'm up here! No, you can't come in!" Moving to slam the door in his face, she got frustrated when it wouldn't close all the way. Looking down at his foot and seeing that he had moved it to block the doorway, she brought her hands up to push on his chest. She took him off guard with the unexpected move and he lost his balance when she gave a shove, causing him to stumble backwards and bump into the wall across from her room. Seeing that she won for now, Stella slammed her bedroom door closed once again. Zac took a step forward and tried the door knob, taking note that she had locked it this time. He balled his hand into a frustrated fist and brought it up to rest near the top of her door as he heard the music start again. He squinted his eyes as he tried to make out the most recent song that she had blaring from her stereo.

'Headstrong'? I never would have placed Ashley's music in the "mad at the world" category. I guess it fits, though. She'd be so pleased…

He let out a sigh as he made his way back downstairs to join the other three guys in the living room, watching the Dodgers as they took on the Atlanta Braves. He allowed himself to get lost in the top of the third inning and Chipper Jones was at bat for the Braves. With a full count, the three Efron men and Vanessa's father all leaned forward to watch the outcome. Would he strike out, take a walk, or hit a home run that he had become famous for? The Dodgers pitcher gave the wind up and all four men sitting in the Hudgens living room sat up, holding a collective breath as the ball was released from his hand and flew through the air. Just as they should have heard either the crack of a bat as it collided with the ball or the umpire shout the much desired "You're Out!", a very different and unexpected sound filled the air.

"I don't care!" Vanessa exclaimed, as she stood up with such force the chair she was sitting in fell back and hit the floor. All four men turned their heads in the direction of the frustrated cry and took in the sight in the other room. Gina and Starla were sitting with shocked expressions on their faces, staring up at Vanessa who was standing, still in the spot where she had been sitting, with her hands on her hips.

"Looks like she finally cracked," Dylan whispered, breaking the silence in the living room. When he caught the glare that Zac and his father both sent his way, he quickly retracted his statement. "Sorry."

"Sweetie, why don't you calm-" Gina began.

"No, Mom, I will not calm down! I've been holding this in for a while and it has to be said. I don't care what color our napkins are! I don't care what food is on the buffet, or if we even have a buffet! I don't care if we have a dj or a live band! All that we wanted was a small party, but apparently we can't even have that!" She turned around and stalked out of the dining room, through the living room and passed all four men staring at her, and out the back door of her parents' house. Zac was the first to come out of his daze and looked at both their mom's, selfishly taking pride in his fiancée and her ability to make them look ashamed.

"Ladies, let me be the one to say thank you."

"Zachary, what are you talking about?" his own mother asked.

"Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to act as damage control. I greatly appreciate it. That's exactly what I wanted to do with my day when I woke up this morning. So again, I say thank you."

Giving a bow in mock seriousness to the women before him, the five people surrounding him couldn't mistake the sarcasm in his voice or eyes, as he turned the steely blues to look at everyone. Rolling his eyes, he turned and followed in Vanessa's footsteps, and everyone in the house- all but one, as she was still upstairs moping in her bedroom- watched as he walked out the back door, in search of Vanessa.