Hey guys! Just wanted to take a second to thank all of you who have reviewed/followed/favorited any of my stories.
I was on Instagram and this amazing account I follow: zanessalicious was talking about this story, so thank you to whoever you are for saying the nice things you did! It meant a lot! I'm glad my story is able to touch you on an emotional level. Your account is one of the best Zanessa accounts on Instagram and it was awesome knowing that you read this!
Here is the next chapter, I hope you all like it!
"This is going to be awesome, bro! I need to find a hot chick!" Dylan said as Zac pulled his Audi into Vanessa's garage.
"Well I guess I don't have to worry about it being Stella since she is in NYC still," Zac joked, turning off the car.
"Ha. Ha. So funny," Dylan said with a flat look on his face. Zac pushed the button, closing the garage door as he unlocked the door and walked into the house.
"Nessa? Baby, we're here!" Zac called out as he and Dylan walked through the kitchen and into the living room.
Zac looked super sexy with his white shirt, brown leather jacket, and dark wash skinny jeans with his white vans. His scruffy face and bright blue eyes looked perfect with his slightly tousled hair that was sticking up, making him look drop-dead amazing.
Vanessa ran down the steps wearing light skinny jeans with an oversized black shirt that was slightly tucked in at the front with black sandals and a long necklace. She had her long black hair down in its natural curls. She had on some bracelets and her kuuipo ring, of course.
"Hey gorgeous," Zac smiled, kissing her softly as she reached them.
"Hey baby. Hey Dyl." She smiled.
"You ready to go?" Zac asked as she slid her phone into her back pocket. She nodded, smiling, and handed him her keys. Dylan turned around and walked to the garage, passing Zac's to get to Vanessa's car. Zac locked the house door before getting into the driver's seat.
He pulled out of the driveway, holding her hand as he drove. They made the 6-minute drive to Ashley's house before pulling into the driveway. They got out and Vanessa noticed the tension Zac had.
She squeezed his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. "I love you."
He smiled and kissed her once more as they rang the doorbell. "I love you, too."
Chris opened the door, letting them in. "Hey guys, come on in." Zac and Dylan shook his hand and walked inside. Vanessa held on to Zac's hand as they walked through Ashley's house where Lucas was playing bartender of the party. They walked up to him, giving him a hug and he starts making them each a drink. They begin talking to him and his girlfriend when they hear Vanessa's name being yelled.
They look up to see a group of girls rushing over to her that Zac has never met. The girls hug her excitedly.
"Laura, Kim, this is my boyfriend, Zac. Babe, this is Laura and Kim." She smiled, wrapping her arm around Zac's waist.
"Nice to meet you," he said as his breathtaking smile forms. He stuck out his hand as they shook it.
"My God, you are even sexier in person!" Laura said, shaking his hand.
Vanessa giggled loudly as Zac blushed. "Thank you?" he replied questioningly.
"It's great to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you," Kim said politely.
"Well, well. If it isn't mister Prank Master!" Chris Warren Jr. said excitedly as he hugged Zac. "How are you man?!"
"Chris! I'm good, man. How was college? You graduated this past spring right?" Zac asked as Lucas handed him a glass of tequila on the rocks.
"Yeah, man. Is it was fun. I feel old now though!" he laughed. "Hey, I heard about you and Vanessa breaking up. I'm sorry, bro. I really thought you guys were gonna like get married and stuff."
Zac looked at him with scrunched eyebrows, "Dude…."
"Chris!" Vanessa said as she ran over and hugged him tightly. "It's so good to see you!" she said, smiling brightly.
Chris looked at Zac confused when Vanessa wrapped her arm around Zac's waist.
"Wait, you didn't break up? But I thought….you were…" he stuttered.
Vanessa giggled, "We did, Chris. But we've been back together for a few months now."
"Thank God!" Chris said, hugging them tightly. They both laughed at him.
Two hours later, everyone had arrived and the party was in full swing. Some people were in the kitchen, talking while others were outside on the patio and around the pool and the rest were on the dance floor Ashley had created by moving all of her living room furniture and getting a party planning crew to install a temporary dance floor that was the size of her huge living room and turning on music from her iPod.
All of the HSM cast was on the dance floor, except for Zac who was using the restroom. When he walked in, Corbin immediately pulled him onto the dance floor. They all danced together.
The girls cheered loudly when "Single Ladies" came on. Vanessa looked at Ashley and Mo, laughing as she remembered them dancing to it one day on set. They looked at each other and began dancing to it together, doing the dance perfectly just like Beyoncé. Vanessa stood in the middle with Ashley and Monique to her side. Everyone that was watching had a huge smile on his or her face. Monique's husband, Zac, and Chris (Ashley's boyfriend, not Chris Warren) were all standing together as the girls directed the dance towards them.
When the dance was over, everyone clapped and rejoined them on the dance floor. "Hey, I did put a ring on it," Mo's husband, smiled.
"Me too…. technically," Zac pointed out lifting his hand to show his kuuipo ring. Vanessa giggled, kissing him on the lips before they all started dancing again.
An hour later, many people were on the line of being tipsy while others were well on their way to drunkenness.
Ashley turned off the music and turned on the huge tv on her wall to watch one of the New Year's Eve programs. Everyone in attendance grabbed a glass of champagne, as the minutes got closer. They all stood together in a semi-circle, watching the TV. Zac had one arm wrapped around Vanessa's waist as Dylan stood to his right side.
Everyone started counting down.
"10…9….8…7…."
Vanessa and Zac turned to face each other, looking into each other's eyes as they continued counting down. Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's neck, careful not to spill her champagne, as Zac did the same, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.
"6….5….4…..3…..2….1!" As "Happy New Year" was said on the TV, Zac and Vanessa were in the middle of a very deep, loving lip lock. They pulled apart when everyone starting cheering, bringing in the New Year. Everyone toasted their champagne before exchanging hugs.
A few days later, Vanessa was leaving her pilates class when her phone rang. "Hello?"
"Ness, it's me. I have some bad news."
"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned as she got into the silence of her Audi.
"I'm on my way to the airport. I got a call from Jason like an hour ago and the movie we're working on producing needs one of us out there and his wife is sick so I have to go. I've tried calling you so I could stop and say goodbye, but my flight leaves in like twenty minutes now."
She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. This was the part she hated about their jobs. "Oh…okay. Well I hope you have a safe flight babe."
"Nessa, I know we were supposed to go out tonight and stuff. Baby, please don't be upset. If you start crying, I'm not going to be able to get on this plane and Ninjas Runnin Wild will lose the movie and then I'll get a bad name and no one will ever want to work with me again and then I'll be an old-washed up, eighty year old man singing "We're All In This Together" in my nursing home all alone."
She giggled loudly, making relief run through him.
"If you're an eighty year old washed-up actor singing it, then I'll be a seventy-nine year old washed-up actress singing it right beside you," she replied making him laugh.
"Sounds like a plan, baby…..Are you okay?" he asked as he carried his bag through the airport, trying to go incognito from paparazzi.
"Yeah. When do you get back?" she asked, driving through Studio City.
"Anywhere from a few days to around a week. I won't really know until I get to New York."
"Okay. Well be careful. Call me when you land?" she asked softly.
"Absolutely. I've gotta go, beautiful. They are calling my plane. I love you, Ness."
"I love you too, Zac. MWAH!"
He chuckled and smiled widely before replying, "Mwah Mwah Mwah. Bye baby."
"Bye babe."
He turned his phone onto airplane mode, not able to hide his smile. That girl always knows how to make my day better he thought to himself as he boarded the plane. He pulled out his headphones and plugged them into his phone before leaning his head against the window and closing his eyes.
That night, he walked into his hotel room after getting back from a bunch of business meetings. Seeing it was nearly midnight, he jumped in the shower and laid down in bed before reaching for his cell phone.
He unlocked the screen and replied to a funny message Dylan had sent him before dialing a very familiar number.
"Hey you!" a sweet voice said on the other side.
"Hey babe," he replied, exhausted but happy to hear her voice.
"Long day?"
"Extremely. Boring business meetings all day."
"Did you find out how long it will take you there?"
"Umm…at least a week."
He heard her sigh on the other side. "Nessa Anne, you better take those pink soft lips and remove them from the pouting position and stop doing those cute little puppy-dog eyes," he scolded, jokingly.
She giggled softly, "How is it that you know what I am doing when your hundreds of miles away?"
"I know everything about you, baby," he replied seriously.
Her joking tone instantly went away. "Don't be sad. If I didn't have a photo-shoot this week, I'd fly to you," she told him.
"I know. It just sucks being away from you. I hate it."
"Me too, babe." When he didn't, she knew he had dozed off. "I love you, baby boy. Sweet dreams."
"I HATE BEING FAMOUS!" Vanessa sighed angrily, falling back onto Ashley's bed and throwing her phone beside her.
"Oh hush, you love your job. What's up?" she asked, putting away some new clothes into her closet.
"Zac was supposed to come home tomorrow and now those idiots are making him stay another week! That's three weeks, Ash! THREE!" she said, covering her eyes with her forearm.
"Why can't someone else from the production company go there so Zac can come home?"
"Because it's Zac's company and apparently they need him, not the others."
"I totally understand, Nessa. I've got a production meeting tomorrow with Blondie Girl. It's a tough job and super stressful sometimes. But even though he loves it, he loves you more and I'm sure if there was a way for him to come home, he would."
"I know, I know. It just sucks! I miss him! My bed is all cold and lonely and I can't sleep as good and I miss having him around," she frowned. "Plus he is going to miss Valentine's Day!"
"Vanessa Hudgens, stop laying around wallowing in sadness and go do something to take your mind off of it. If he could be here for Valentine's Day, you know he'd be here in a heartbeat. This is what sucks about our jobs. But you guys can always celebrate when he gets home."
"UGGGHHHHHH. I miss him, Ash."
"Then go stay at his house or something! Or go hang out with Dylan! He is basically a mini me of Zac!"
Vanessa sat up on the bed quickly with wide eyes. "You're a genius, Ash!" she said excitedly, grabbing her phone.
She dialed a number and smiled when someone picked up.
"Hello my dear brother-in-law, whatcha doing?"
"Sis-in-law! Hey! Nothing much, just got back from surfing. What are you doing?"
"Sitting here with talking with Ashley. I ummm….are you doing anything Saturday night?"
"Asking me on a date? I knew this day would come. I always told Zac it would!" he joked.
She laughed loudly, "Ha. Ha. Very funny. Are you?"
"No, I don't have any plans. Why, what's up?"
"Do you want to go to a Lakers game with me?"
"You miss him?"
"Like crazy."
"I'll be there. What time does it start?"
"7."
"Cool. I'll head down that way around 2 then so I have time to use my Efron manners and take you to dinner before hand. We'll have some quality bro and sis time. Sound good?"
"Sounds amazing. You're the best. Thanks Dyl."
"You're welcome. Can't wait to tell Zac I'm taking you on a date and he isn't. This is gonna be great!"
"Be nice. He wishes he was here!"
"I know, I'm just messing with him. Hey, I gotta go but I'll see you in a few days, okay?"
"K. Bye Dyl."
They hung up and Ashley looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Happy?"
"Yes. As happy as I can be without him actually here."
Ashley laughed at her, but smiled. "Good, I'm glad. Now come on, let's go get some dinner!"
As Vanessa got into bed that night, she opened her laptop and propped herself her up the pillows, resting the laptop on her legs. She smiled widely when the she got a new Skype alert. Hitting the connect button, she was brought face to face with her boyfriend.
"Hey baby!" she said with a big smile on her face.
"Hey you!" he smiled back. "Hey! How come you're in my bed, missy?" he joked.
She giggled and bit her lip. "I missed you and your pillow in my bed didn't smell like you anymore. So I came here," she smiled.
He chuckled. "You know I'm just kidding, you can sleep there whenever you want. I'm sure you're already wearing my boxers along with my favorite t-shirt I see you have on."
"Hey, they are more comfy! And they make me feel like you're sleeping beside me. I know it's weird, but…"
"It's not weird, baby. I totally understand. I wish I could fit into your tiny little sweatshirts so I could feel the same."
She laughed at his joke before looking at him with adoration in her eyes.
He got a teasing look on his face before he smirked. "So what's this I hear about you replacing me with a younger, hotter, funnier version of myself?"
She laughed loudly, before smiling. "He may be younger, but he is definitely not hotter or funnier. And he isn't replacing you. Just temporarily filling in. Plus, he doesn't have the same brightness to his blue eyes or the perfectly defined jaw-line with just the right amount of stubble or the cute freckle on his left cheek near his ear. He also doesn't have the tiny red scar on his lower abdomen that reminds me of one of the scariest days of my life yet makes me thankful to have you. He doesn't have the scar on his right hand from hitting a floor while filming a movie. He doesn't rub the back of his neck when he is nervous. He doesn't blush when someone asks him about me. He doesn't clap in the middle of laughing if he finds something funny, yet a little awkward. He doesn't know how to make my day better by just smiling at me or making a funny face. He can't make all my nervousness go away by holding my hand or wrapping his arm around me. He can't make my heart race or butterflies appear in my stomach by winking at me. He can't make me feel like the only girl in the world. He isn't my best friend and he isn't you."
He cleared his throat as he blinked back a few tears that formed in his eyes. They just stared at each other in a comfortable silence.
"I love you," he smiled. It was a simple sentence yet it held so much meaning between them. It was the perfect response.
She smiled cutely, "I love you too."
"It is so hard being away from you. It's killing me."
"I know. I wish you were here with me. Your pillow feels a lot scrawnier than you when I cuddle up to it," she said with a scrunched nose.
He laughed, "I'm glad. Otherwise you might just tape a picture of my face to my pillow and walk around with that instead of me."
She started laughing so hard that she snorted, making him laugh too.
"Someone has the giggles tonight," he smiled as he took a sip of water.
She bit her lip, smiling at him, "I'm just happy to see you."
He winked, "Right back at cha baby."
Suddenly Shadow came running into the room and jumped into her lap, looking frantically for Zac since she heard his voice.
"Look Shadow, it's Daddy!" Vanessa said, pointing to the screen.
Shadow barked at the screen and wagged her tail.
"Hey girl! You better not pee in Daddy's house." He said pointing at the screen. Vanessa giggled and Shadow moved away, laying on Zac's side of the bed as she got bored.
"You look tired, baby. You should get some sleep," Vanessa said sweetly as a yawn escaped his mouth.
He nodded and smiled softly. "I'll call you in the morning?" he asked, rubbing his tired eyes.
"I'll be waiting. Sleep good babe."
"You too. Have fun sleeping in my cozy, warm bed," he joked. "I love you, baby. I'll meet you in my dreams," he said while blowing her a kiss with two hands and winking. "Mwah!"
She smiled and blew him a kiss. "I love you too. Mwah!"
They ended their skype conversation and closed their computers before falling asleep on different sides of the country, but with matching smiles on their faces.