An: This is a pretty short chapter, but its essential to the story I can promise you that. I have nothing more to say but thanks to all the reviews! It hit over 100 reviews and it'd all be impossible without you guys!

Enjoy this extra chapter!

Reviews are welcomed!

Chapter Six: The Dog Days are Over

"Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back. Struck from a great height, by someone who should know better than that,"—The Dog Days are Over, Florence & the Machine.

Three Weeks later…

April 27th, 2011.

Yvonne had been staring at him for nearly a half hour. That entire time was spent in the car as they drove from her apartment to LAX, and it never stopped being awkward. Her blue eyes remained glued to Zac, unblinking. They weren't inclined to stray from his general direction. It was as if she were in a trance; even the radio on full blast did not have the slightest effect on her.

Upon arriving to the airport parking lot, Zac located a free space and killed the ignition. He turned to face Yvonne, perplexed by her odd behavior. Maybe she was still upset about missing the Scream 4 premier? Apparently, he had greatly overestimated his celebrity status in Hollywood and failed spectacularly to acquire the tickets to the worldwide event. Or perhaps it could've been that weekend he partied in Las Vegas while she went back to Australia to visit family. Only one of these instances did warrant for some disappointment and Zac swore to rectify it at all cost. He would make it up to his beautiful girlfriend—did he just refer Yvonne Strahovski as his girlfriend? It was unofficial, sure, but semantics. He'd make it up to her in spades.

This brought his concern full circle. He wondered how a one week vacation to paradise could be skewed as problematic. It was free of cost, for Yvonne anyway. They were flying first class. And they were going to spend seven days and nights in the most expensive villa the Grand Wailea could offer. That had to be better than sitting in a crowded movie theater. Being in the limelight that was the public eye wasn't exactly what either of them wanted, especially given the circumstances. They were both exhausted and Zac knew that every tabloid—from TMZ to Entertainment Tonight would be present.

For the past week, the paparazzi had been hounding the Chuck stars without remorse. On Wednesday, Yvonne had convinced him to take a jog through the park. They were interrupted after covertly exchanging quick, affectionate kisses. An onslaught of reporters ambushed them with flashing cameras and a bombardment of questions. This encounter was as blunt and unforgiving as Yvonne. She was particularly fed up with their situation; her lack of decorum had the journalists fleeing for their lives in a matter of seconds. Zac then made the executive decision to cut their morning run short, taking her to his house where they engaged in a different kind of cardio workout.

This had become their routine. They made several more halfhearted attempts at freedom but it ended in disaster. And in sex. So it was not too horrible since almost four years of sexual tension had to be alleviated somehow. The sex itself was a cathartic release. It was amazing, fantastic, spectacular, godlike (and every other elegant adjective Zac could rift off) but eventually, both actors agreed that it was time to move on with their lives.

A trip to Hawaii was Zac's (impulsive) solution to their depravity.

This meant that Yvonne should be all smiles at this point. Zac knew he had been before picking her up earlier that afternoon. Her default expression crushed whatever excitement he managed to save for their very first romantic vacation as a real couple.

He massaged the bridge of his nose, finally asking. "Would you please say what you need to say? You're starting to freak me out, and I can't handle this scrutiny. Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Whatever it is, I apologize ok?"

Yvonne wordlessly brought a hand to his face. Her fingertips ran through the spiked hair, then down to the sides that were buzzed. The act itself was random but it triggered an understanding to why she had been acting so weird.

Her question was curious. "Did you lose a bet?"

Cheeks flushed pink. "No, I didn't lose a bet."

"Then did somebody prank you?"

"If I were to say that I did this completely sound of mind and upon my own free will, would you believe me?"

Yvonne appeared dubious.

"So what you're saying is that one morning you just woke up, looked into the mirror and decided you'd do…that," she frowned and gestured to the abomination that rested on top of his head, "to yourself?"

"Have you been staring at my mohawk for the entire drive?" Zac changed the subject with arms folded, an eyebrow raised.

"I couldn't look away," Yvonne deadpanned. "This was all because you were bored, isn't it?"

He scoffed. "Why does everyone think it was out of boredom? I wanted to mix things up, try something new. Besides, I like it."

"You look ridiculous, Zac."

"Give it a few days and the hawk will change your mind."

Yvonne rolled her eyes; grabbing the blue Dodger cap from the dashboard and pulled it over his head. She quipped, "That's highly unlikely," and then exited the car before Zac could retort.

The passenger door slammed shut. Zac tugged the brim of the baseball hat down to block out the sun. He was unsurprised by Yvonne's remarks concerning his new hairdo. A lot of people have already commented on it, most of which were expressed in the form of repressed laughter. But he ignored their scathing criticisms. He'd admit that the mohawk was a product of excessive boredom, much due to his forced reclusion from society. Secretly, he hoped that it'd somehow deflect all of the unwanted attention so he and Yvonne could enjoy Maui together.

It was a useless feat.

They would likely be confirmed as an item before the plane even took to the sky.

It'd be a relief, but he wanted to tell the world himself. What gave the media the right to deliver such incredible, life-altering news?

An idea struck him.

He glanced at the rearview mirror and saw that Yvonne was collecting the many bags of luggage from the trunk. Rolling down the side window, he stuck out his neck and called out to her:

"Babe, would you come over here for a minute?"

The Iphone was placed on top of the dashboard; its red light signaled that it was now recording. They were both sitting in the car again. Their flight was due to leave in less than an hour. Yvonne was apprehensive. She understood what Zac was trying to accomplish here, but time was of the essence. This had to be fast.

"Hello nerds and nerdettes," Zac calmly greeted those who were viewing the live stream. "I know this was sort of abrupt, but sometimes you just have to expect the unexpected and roll with the punches, you know? Anyway, let's get straight to the point."

"You must be confused to as why Yvonne Strahovski is sitting beside me." The camera focused on her and she waved back shyly. "Well, there's a simple explanation for that. You see, we've been thinking that it's time to set the record straight about these alleged sightings of us being seen together in a romantic capacity…"

Zac took Yvonne by the hand. He focused solely into her eyes and continued in a softer voice, "Neither of us is going to deny these allegations because we'd be only lying to everyone including ourselves. So before the real rumors begin leaking onto the internet, the magazines or the television screen, we'll say it here first. Or rather, show you."

Every time another we slipped from his mouth, it made Yvonne's heart flutter. Now with all the undivided attention Zac could muster (the viewer count hovered around a thousand), he leaned across the space between and brought his lips to hers for the longest kiss either one of them had ever endured.

They parted, breathless.

The amount of views skyrocketed; comments exploding on the live chatboard. Zac plucked the Iphone and filmed Yvonne's reaction, her blue eyes sparkling with a matching grin. He turned the camera on himself.

"There."

The stream ended.

The website serves crashed not much later.

And an entire fanbase collectively swooned.

They boarded the plane holding hands, not caring who saw or what was said in flight from Los Angeles to Maui was relatively painless. It consisted mostly in Zac and Yvonne reading emails from their friends and families—all congratulating them on what should've happened eons ago. Twitter was (to put it lightly) on fire. Their names were trending worldwide as was their endearing nickname, Zachonne.

Six hours later and the plane safely landed on the tiny island. Night had fallen since then, the tropical wind breezing outside was warm and inviting. Yvonne woke up to the voice of the pilot instructing the passengers that they could now unbuckle their seatbelts and exit out into the terminal. Yawning, Yvonne realized that she'd been snuggled against Zac for the last half of the flight. He was still asleep, his chin resting on top of his chest while he snoozed, undisturbed. With a smile, she nudged him awake. He peered through a half-hooded gaze, leaving a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"I'm not still dreaming, am I?" He whispered sleepily.

Yvonne shook her head. "No, it's very real."

Zac grinned as he removed the baseball cap; running a hand through his dishelved hair.

"Good," he said. "I love you."

"I love you too," was her sincere answer. She paused then cupped his cheek and added, "Welcome to paradise, Zac."

Neither truly understood the weight of those words.

But they would definitely find out soon enough.

An: Told you it was short! Next chapter has Zac and Yvonne (now a real couple, yippee!) exploring Hawaii's hot spots. It'll be the return of smut, don't worry!

Until next time folks!