Starla descended down the stairs and walked towards the master bedroom with a big smile on her face.
"What?" David asked her skeptically as he got into bed.
"Oh nothing. Let's just say that I just saw something I haven't seen since Thanksgiving a few years ago," Starla winked.
David looked deep in thought as he racked his brain for what she was talking about. His eyes widened when he remembered Starla walking in Zac's room to find them asleep, naked.
"Wow! When Zac called this morning, he was so nervous about going over to V's to see everyone. I wonder how they got back together" David asked as Starla climbed into bed and turned off the light.
"I don't know. I guess just seeing how much they missed each other and reliving all the memories of the movies made them realize how stupid they were both being. Neither of them have been happy since the break up."
"I know. I hope they realize now that their career is important, but love is what comes first."
Starla nodded. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
The Efron parents soon drifted into sleep.
Zac woke up the next morning to the feeling of light kisses on his chest and neck.
"Mmmm. If this is a dream, please don't wake me up," he groaned as he pulled her closer. His eyes fluttered open when he heard a sweet giggle in response.
"Hey sleepyhead," Vanessa smiled as she placed her chin on his chest, looking up at him.
He winked and closed his eyes, the smile on his face letting her know that he was just joking. She squealed loudly when he rolled them over and attacked her face, neck, and chest with light, playful kisses. He finally gave her a soft, loving kiss on the lips.
"I missed waking up in your arms" she said softly as hugged his body tightly.
"I missed it too, baby." he replied huskily.
"I don't want to leave this room though," he added with a sad look on his face. "Because then I have to face the fact that he is gone."
She smiled softly and kissed him gently. "We can face it together, baby. Otherwise, your mom or Dyl will be coming in here to get us. I heard her making breakfast a few minutes ago."
"You don't think she made French toast do you?!" he asked excitedly as he jumped up and walked over to the dresser, grabbing a pair of boxers.
She laughed loudly and got up, putting on her clothes from the night before. After getting on her shorts and tank top, she looked at the shirt she had previously. "Can I just wear one of your shirts? This one wasn't comfortable."
He looked through the drawers and found his blue plaid button shirt that she used to always steal from him. Since he has gotten a lot more muscular, he could no longer wear it anyways. Her eyes lit up when he held it up. "Yes, please!" He chuckled and tossed it across the room to her. He pulled on a pair of pajama pants, but didn't bother to put on a shirt.
He smiled as he watched her button up the shirt that was still too big on her, but it looked adorable. She tucked it partly into her jean shorts and they walked downstairs.
His eyes lit up when he saw French toast being cooked. "Hey mama," he said as he kissed her cheek.
"Good morning, sweetheart. How'd you sleep?" she asked with a knowing smirk on her face.
Zac busted out laughing and winked at Vanessa as she blushed. "Best I have in three years!"
Starla shook her head, smiling. Zac sat down at the table next to the younger Efron, who was trying to hold in his laughter. Since Dylan has gotten older, he is starting to look more and more like Zac. Vanessa smiled at the sight of the two brothers, shirtless with matching pajama bottoms on, waiting excitedly for French toast.
They all began to eat breakfast once Starla was done cooking it. They kept the conversation light and comical as they caught up. When the food was done, Vanessa got up to help Starla with the dishes. Zac watched his mother and girlfriend and smiled.
Zac's smile fell when he saw the stack of papers sitting to his right. He started reading over all of the paper work from the hospital and funeral home. After a few minutes, he dropped the papers from the table and got up. He went ignored the looks he was getting and ran upstairs.
He threw on his swim shorts and came back down.
They all knew where Zac was going.
"Do you need me to go, bro?" Dylan asked.
Zac nodded his head as he kissed Vanessa softly. "I love you," he said to her softly. He grabbed his keys and wallet, leaving his phone on the counter.
"Be careful, boys." Starla said as Dylan reemerged into the kitchen now wearing swim trunks. Zac nodded, not saying another word and walked into the garage, grabbing his and Dylan's surfboard before tying them to the top of his Audi and speeding off.
Dylan knew better than to try and get Zac to talk. When he was ready, he would open up. Until then, Dylan knew to just stay quiet.
David and Starla sat down to start arranging her father's funeral. The doorbell rang and Vanessa offered to get it. She stood up and made her way to the front door, opening it to reveal Zac's grandmother, Anne.
"Vanessa! Sweetheart, it's so good to see you!" she gushed as she hugged the petite woman that was like a granddaughter to her.
"You too! I missed you!" Vanessa smiled as they walked inside. "I hate that it has to be under these conditions."
"Me too, sweetie. But, I'm glad you're here. I could tell my grandson was hurting last night, but when I saw that sparkle in his eye, I knew you were the one to put it there."
Vanessa smiled and silently giggled. "I'm glad I was able to. I really missed him."
"Well he missed you too, sweetie."
They returned to kitchen and sat down at the table. They started planning the funeral and Vanessa helped by calling people and letting them know what time the service would be, and calling to order the supplies they needed.
When Vanessa had done everything she could, she went upstairs to call Ashley.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ash."
"Hey Nessa. What's up? How is Zac's grandpa?"
"He died, Ash. Last night. They only kept him on life support until we got here so Zac could say goodbye."
"Oh god, I'm so sorry. Tell Zac that I'm thinking about him and love him. How is he doing?"
"Not good. Last night when we got back, we umm….really didn't talk about it." She continued when Ashley squealed in excitement, as she understood what Vanessa was talking about. "But this morning when he saw the funeral planning stuff, he jumped up to go and surf. Thankfully Dylan went with him, but I don't know what to do to help him."
"I think you just being there will help him, Nesquick. Which THANK GOD you guys got back together. It's about damn time!"
Vanessa laughed, "I know. I'm glad."
"Well I didn't know when you guys would be coming back so I brought Shadow home with me. Her and Maui can have a sleepover for the next few days."
"Thanks so much, Ash. If you get tired of her, feel free to drop her off at my parents' house. Stella can watch her if need be."
"Nonsense. She loves Auntie Ashley."
Vanessa giggled and sighed. "Ash, I'm getting worried. Zac has been gone for like 4 hours now. He didn't take his phone with him or anything."
"I'm sure he is fine. Don't worry."
"I'm trying, but I can't help it. I'm going to go shower before he gets back. I'll talk to you later, okay? Love you."
"Love you too, Nessa. Let me know if there is anything I can do."
"I will. Bye Ash."
Vanessa hung up and sighed. She got up and went into the bathroom, turning on the shower as she stripped herself of clothing.
She stepped into the hot water and began to take a shower.
When she was finished, she pulled on a pair of Zac's boxers. Next, she grabbed a pair of his sweatpants that had a drawstring and she pulled them as tight as they would go and rolled the waistband down some, so they wouldn't be so long on her short legs. She pulled on her bra and threw on one of his tshirts. She pulled the towel off her head, letting her long brown hair cascade down her back, leaving the wet curls to dry naturally.
She grabbed her phone and called Ashley again.
"Hey, I forgot to ask. Can you do me a favor?"
"Duh. What's up?"
"Can you overnight me some of my clothes? I need a few outfits and something dressy for the funeral. I didn't think to bring anything with me."
"Of course. I'll head over there now and grab some stuff and send it there."
"Thank you thank you thank you! Bye Ash!"
"Bye!"
Vanessa walked downstairs to see Starla and David watching TV in the living room. Vanessa sat down in the oversized chair; next to the couch Starla and David were on.
"Where did Anne go?" Vanessa asked curiously.
"She had to run home and get some stuff together to take to the funeral home," David explained.
Vanessa nodded and began to watch the movie that was playing on the large flat screen mounted on the wall of the Efron's living room.
An hour later, Zac and Dylan walked into the front door of the home and walked into the kitchen.
"Hey guys, we're back," Dylan said loudly as he walked into the living room.
"Shhh!" David scolded him as he pointed at Vanessa who was curled up, asleep in the chair.
Zac walked in and smiled. He gently lifted her up and sat her back down in his lap, covering her with a blanket. Even in her sleep, she snuggled up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"How did she know it was you? She's asleep!" Dylan asked in amazement.
Zac chuckled. "She just knew. I'm the same way. You'll get it one day, lil bro."
Dylan rolled his eyes.
"How were the waves?" David asked.
"Awesome! They were the best ones I've seen in a while!" Zac said, excitement in his voice.
The four Efrons started watching a baseball game that had just started. Zac looked down and watched the love of his life sleep peacefully. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and went back to watching the game.
"How long do you have here before you have to go back?" Starla asked Zac during a commercial.
"I'm free as long as I need to be. I don't have any projects for a while since I just did all those in a row for the past two years. I have to start promoting some stuff, but that won't be for a few months. Thanksgiving is in two weeks, so I may just stay until then."
Starla smiled, "Why don't you invite Greg, Gina, and Stella to come up and have Thanksgiving with us?"
"I'll talk to Ness about it. I don't know if they have anything planned already."
Starla nodded and continued to watch the game. Once their team started to lose by a large margin, David started flipping through the stations. He stopped when he saw his son's face on E! News.
"Oh boy," Zac said as he rolled his eyes.
"Hello everybody! I'm Ryan Seacrest and we have some breaking news for you. Zanessa is back!" Pictures of Zac and Vanessa from yesterday at the hospital popped up on the screen, as well as a picture of Zac and Vanessa kissing in her car from yesterday. "Now the rumors that Austin Butler broke up with Vanessa after her and Zac started having an affair were proved false when a close friend of the couple said that Austin was jealous of Zac and Vanessa's friendship for a long time. The High School Musical sweethearts apparently got back together after having a reunion with the cast. Paparazzi caught the lovebirds holding hands and walking into the hospital. Zac's manager issued this statement: "Zac and Vanessa request privacy at this time. They are dealing with the loss of a close family member and thank their fans for their continuous support. Best of luck to you, Zanessa!"
"How did your manager know what to say?" David asked as he turned the volume back down.
"He called when me and Dyl were on our way to the beach earlier. Apparently him and Jason (V's manager) were flooded with phone calls and e-mails and thought it would be better to issue a statement on both of our behalves so that hopefully the paps will leave us alone for a few days. When he couldn't reach me on my phone, cause I left it here, he called Vanessa who gave him Dyl's number" Zac explained.
David nodded in understanding and Zac carefully grabbed his phone out of his pocket when it was vibrating. He opened it to see a bunch of text messages and missed calls. He replied to a few of the important ones, waiting until later to reply to the less urgent ones.
"Hey Zaccy, sorry to hear about your grandpa. Let me know if you need anything at all! Love you bunches! Mwah!"
"Thanks Ash, that means a lot. Love you too, big sis."
Zac sent the message to Ashley and then opened the next one.
"Zac, I'm so sorry about your grandfather. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask!"
"Thanks Mo, I appreciate it." He replied to Monique.
"ZacAttack, I'm very upset that I had to find out about being my big brother again on E! News because my sister didn't care to inform me! Seriously though, I couldn't be happier you two finally got back together! It's about time! And I'm really sorry to hear about your grandpa. I know how much he meant to you. Let me know if you need anything and I'll do my best to help. Mom and Dad say hello and send their well wishes. Love you big bro, but you and Nessa have a LOT of making up to do! :) Love, StellaBella"
"I'm really sorry we didn't tell you right away, I promise I will make it up to you. You know that no matter what, you'll always be my little sister :P Thanks for the well wishes, it means so much to me and Dyl. I can't wait to see you. Love you loads, StellaBella" Zac hit the send button, replying to Stella.
He skimmed through the dozens of new messages in his inbox, not taking the time to reply right away. He laid his phone down on the air of the chair.
"Did you get everything planned out, mom?" Dylan asked.
"Yeah, the funeral is tomorrow at 3:30. Do either of you want to say something at the funeral? You're grandfather would have really liked it if you did."
"I don't know, mom. I can't handle big crowds. You do it, bro" Dylan said, looking at Zac.
Zac thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll say something."
Dylan looked at Vanessa who was still asleep. "She looks better in your clothes than you do, bro."
"Ha. Ha. You're so funny," Zac said sarcastically. "Dickhead," he mumbled as he flipped him off jokingly.
Starla rolled her eyes as she stood up, going to answer the door. A man stood at the door with a huge, beautiful arrangement of flowers with a large tray of fruit and a plate of homemade snicker doodle cookies.
"Delivery for Efron," the man said. Starla signed for the delivery and carefully carried everything into the living room.
"Who is that from?" David asked as Starla sat back down after pulling out a card from the flowers.
Starla began to read the card out loud.
"David, Starla, Zachary, and Dylan:
We are thinking about you and praying for you. Please do not hesitate to call if you need anything at all.
Much love,
Greg, Gina, and Stella Hudgens"
"Oh my!" Starla said as she got a tear in her eye. "I'm going to call Gina now. She is just the sweetest thing ever!" She jumped up and grabbed the phone, walking to the kitchen. Zac smiled and chuckled as Dylan grabbed the plate of cookies.
"Throw me one, bro." Zac said as he lifted his hand in the air to catch the cookie flying towards his face. "Gina makes the best snicker doodle cookies ever!"
The three Efron men all started eating the cookies. A few minutes later, Zac looked down into his lap to see Vanessa starting to stir. He watched her face scrunch up in confusion as she tried to remember where she was as she woke up. Her eyes fluttered open slowly before she quickly shut them again, burying her face in his neck as the bright sun coming into the room hurting her newly awakened eyes.
He chuckled and hugged her tight, kissing the side of her head as she placed a soft kiss on his neck. "Who's the sleepyhead now?" he asked quietly since Dylan and David were watching a movie.
"I was worried about you," she whispered into his neck.
"I know. I should have taken my phone or called you from Dylan's. I'm sorry babe. I just needed to get out and think and get my emotions in check."
She nodded, understanding him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
"I love your outfit," he winked.
She smiled shyly. "When I got out of the shower I remembered I didn't have any clean clothes. Plus yours are way more comfortable. I got Ashley to overnight me some though. And don't worry; she is going by your place to grab one of your suits and some shoes."
Zac smiled and kissed her nose. "You're the best. I wasn't even thinking about that."
She winked. "Don't worry, Efron. I've got you covered."
He leaned down and kissed her softly, pulling back after a moment, mindful that his father was in the room.
"What? No pillow in the face this time?" Zac asked Dylan questioningly.
Dylan shrugged and smiled. "Nah, not this time. I actually missed seeing that."
Vanessa smiled up at Zac. "Me too," they both replied, looking into each other's eyes.