As it got dark, the group of friends settled around the bonfire the boys had made on the beach.
They all sat around talking and chatting. Vanessa was sitting on Zac's lap, as he absentmindedly played with her curls.
"Zac, don't you know how to play guitar?!" Brittany asked him.
He nodded as she clapped excitedly. "Do you know how to play "Lego House" by Ed Sheeran?"
He nodded and Vanessa smiled, remembering when he sang it for her.
Monique gasped, "Please play it! I love that song!"
He shrugged, "Alright, I need a guitar though."
Ryan got up, "I have mine in my car. Be right back." He ran inside and grabbed it before coming back. Vanessa got up and sat down in Ashley's lap as Zac cleared his throat and tuned all the strings to the right key.
He started playing and everyone listened with smiles on their faces.
"Zac, that is SO good!" Laura said when he finished the last chord.
He smiled, "Thanks."
"Yo, dude. Play "Pumped Up Kicks" like you did with Taylor," Lucas said.
Ashley laughed, "Zac Efron impromptu concert. Let's sell some tickets. We could make millions!"
"Ha Ha, very funny," Zac deadpanned. He cleared his throat as he strummed a few chords. He took a deep breath before beginning to play and sing.
"You're awesome, dude." Miley commented, smiling, when he finished the song.
Zac shook his head, not thinking he was that good and handed the guitar to Ryan.
Zac was about to get Vanessa to sit back on his lap, when he noticed Dylan wasn't sitting to his right anymore. He looked around and saw him with his feet in the water.
Zac looked at Vanessa, concerned, before getting up and slipping away to talk to his brother.
Dylan stood there, looking out into the calm water as he nurtured the beer in his hand. He felt a strong arm rest on top of his shoulders and smiled weakly.
"Sup, bro?" Zac asked, taking a sip of his own beer.
Dylan shrugged, "Just thinking. How can the water look so calm and serene when life is all such a big mess?"
Zac looked at him with a weird face, "Who are you? Nicholas Sparks?"
Dylan laughed slightly and pushed Zac, laughing at his joke.
"I'm just kidding, bro. I get it completely. When Ness and I broke up, I went into ninja mode and disappeared, remember? I flew to Australia and just surfed for a few days. It was calming. Now I'm not saying you should disappear to a different country because mom and dad would flip, but you are more than welcome to stay at Woodrow for a few days if you want to be alone."
"Woodrow?" Dylan asked, confused.
"Yeah, my old house. It's on Woodrow Wilson Drive. It's easier to say Woodrow."
Dylan shook his head, laughing. "You're crazy, bro. But thanks, I think I'll take you up on that. You'll be in town though, right?"
Zac was going to joke about Dylan needing to have his big brother around, but didn't because he knew Dylan really needed him. "Yeah man, I'll be here. Ness is flying to New York tomorrow night for an appearance. We can go check out the Lakers game or watch it at home with some beers. Whatever you wanna do."
Dylan nodded, smiling. "Lakers v. Heat. Let's go!"
Zac laughed and slapped his back. "Sounds good, little bro. Do mom and dad know you are here?"
Dylan pursed his lips together and looked down at his feet.
"Dylan! They are going to flip out when they realize you aren't in SLO!"
"I know, I just needed to get away and if I told them where I was going on such short notice they would have known something was wrong. Then mom would have wanted to know all about it and I just didn't feel like talking about it."
Zac nodded in understanding. "I'll call Dad and tell him you are staying with me for a couple of days because I had time off and wanted to spend some time with you before your school schedule got crazy again."
Dylan smiled big, "Thanks Zman. You're the best!"
Zac smiled as Dylan hugged him. "You're welcome, Dyl." They pulled apart and began walking back to where everyone was.
Zac smiled widely as he saw Vanessa sitting in the seat he was previously in, wearing his sweatshirt while eating a s'more she had just made.
He looked at her, amused and she smiled back like a little kid in a candy store.
He carefully picked her up and sat her back down in his lap. She offered him a bite and he opened his mouth, biting off some of the marshmallow-chocolately goodness.
She giggled and kissed the corner of his mouth where some chocolate was left behind.
"mmm," he said with a teasing smile on his face. "The smore was good, but I think I liked the kiss even better."
She giggled softly and rolled her eyes playfully as she touched the s'more to his lips, getting chocolate all over them before kissing his lips.
When she pulled back, licking her lips, he smiled widely. "Definitely like the kisses better," he winked.
Vanessa who was sitting sideways on Zac's lap, poked Dylan's arm with her bare toes.
He grabbed her foot and tickled it, making her giggle loudly.
"Keep these little monkey feet away from me," he joked.
She scoffed loudly, faking hurt before moving her feet away from his hands quickly.
Zac kissed the top of her head absentmindedly as he was in the middle of a conversation with Corbin and Ashley.
Vanessa continued to mess with Dylan, trying her best to take his mind off the day.
"Hey monkey feet, can you open this beer?" he asked with a challenging look on his face.
"Cover it with something first so I don't cut my foot open," she said, accepting his challenge. He placed a tshirt over the metal lid of the glass beer bottle. She moved her foot out, taking the lid of the bottle and opening it like it was no problem.
Dylan looked at her with a shocked face as she cheered triumphantly.
"That's creepy, Nessa," he joked as he moved the shirt and tossed the lid of the beer bottle at her.
"Whatever! You love me and my monkey feet!"
"Only cause I have to!" he said, smiling widely.
"AH!" she scoffed, with her eyebrows knitted together.
He laughed at her, shaking his head. "You know I'm just messing with you."
Dylan pulled out his phone and his eyes went wide when he saw "7 missed calls." He opened them to see they were all from Starla.
"Fuck," he muttered under his breath. Vanessa said "oooooooh" when she saw who had called.
"Mom is going to kill you, Dylan!" she said as he looked scared.
Zac motioned for Dylan to hand him his phone. He called Starla back and smiled to himself when she picked up.
"Dylan Nicholas Efron, you are in BIG trouble!"
"Mama?" Zac said sweetly.
"Zachary? Sweetheart?"
"Hey mama, it's me."
"Is everything okay? Why are you with Dylan?"
"I found out that Ness leaves tomorrow for NYC so I called Dylan and asked if he would come spend a few days here with me. We are the beach house in Malibu and I just grabbed his phone from my car where he left it earlier."
"Oh okay, that's fine. I was just getting worried. I'll let you go, but tell my sweet girl I love her and I love you boys."
"I'll tell her and we all love you too, mama."
They hung up the phone and Zac smiled and clicked his tongue in triumph as he tossed Dylan his phone.
"What the hell?! She was ready to jump all over me until she realized it was you!"
Zac just chuckled and went back to his earlier conversation with Ash and Corbin.
Vanessa cuddled up against Zac's chest and ate her s'more, happy and content to be with her best friends. He kissed her head and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
"Comfy?" he asked, kissing her temple.
She nodded, smiling and kissed the underside of his jaw. "What time is your flight tomorrow?"
"Three. I hate when I have to fly there and then come right back the next day. It's better because I'm not away from you as long, but it's just a lot of flying, ya know?"
He nodded in understanding. He carefully picked her up and sat her back down in his seat as he walked to the other side of the fire, getting a drink. As he was rummaging around the cooler, Brad and another guy stumbled up.
Ryan rolled his eyes, hoping the guy he barely knew wouldn't cause any trouble.
"Hey Brad, what's going on?" Ryan asked, trying to be cool.
Brad shook his hand in greeting as his friend eyed up Vanessa. He winked at her and stood by her chair. "Hey sexy, wanna dance?"
She smiled sweetly, "No thanks, I'm good."
"Aww come on. It's just a dance. This is a good song."
"I'm good. Thanks though," she said, starting to feel uncomfortable.
As he reached out to touch her shoulder, Zac stepped in front of him with a serious look on his face.
"Don't touch her. I believe she said no."
Ryan, Corbin, and Dylan all stood up behind Zac, seeing what was about to potentially happen.
Brad stood behind his friend, with wide eyes.
"She just needs a few drinks is all. I'll make it worth her while," Brad's friend Mike said, raising his eyebrows at Vanessa provocatively.
Zac's jaw clenched shut as he clenched his fist tightly, the vein throbbing down his arm and in his neck.
Ryan spoke up quickly, "Yo dude, you need to leave."
Mike chose to ignore him and smiled evilly. "I saw that ass of hers and just had to come over. She looks like she would be wild, if ya know what I mean," he said, hitting Zac's chest suggestively.
Zac looked down at where the guy's hand was hitting his chest and he looked at him with a cold stare. When Zac spoke, his voice was deep with anger and warning. "I suggest you shut the fuck up."
Mike pulled his hand away and smiled. "What? Are you her brother? I'm sorry dude."
Dylan stepped forward, standing beside Zac with his arms crossed across his chest. "No, that would be me."
Mike looked at Dylan and took in the height difference he had over Zac, yet Zac was still a lot more muscular than Dylan.
Mike chuckled under his breath. "I just wanna dance with her. Maybe get a little peek. I mean I've already seen the pictures; I just want to know if she looks even hotter in person."
Before anyone could make a move, Zac's fist was colliding harshly with the guy's face, instantly breaking his nose and busting open his lip.
Ryan and Corbin quickly grabbed Zac's arms before he could do anymore damage as the guy stumbled backwards, nearly falling to the ground.
Dylan surged forward and kicked the guy right in the crotch, making Mike fall to his knees groaning loudly in pain. Dylan squatted down next Mike and laughed. "Just a little tip for ya, bro. Next time you want to talk about shit like that, make sure you aren't saying it to the chick's fiancée."
Mike looked up wide-eyed in pain as he saw Zac still being held back by Corbin and Ryan.
Brad pulled his friend to his feet and quickly helped him away.
When they were gone, Ryan and Corbin finally let go of Zac's arms. Zac ran his hand through his hair before seeing his slightly swollen knuckles that would surely bruise.
He turned around to see Ashley running towards the house, after Vanessa. Zac quickly took off after them, trying to catch up.
When he got inside, he saw Ashley outside the downstairs bathroom door, knocking softly. "Nesquick, let me in, sweetie."
Vanessa's crying was all that could be heard. He took a deep breath, getting all of the anger out of his body. He made his way to the bathroom door and stood outside while Ashley tried to get her to unlock the door. Using his good left hand, he tapped the door softly with his knuckles.
"Baby? It's me," he said softly. A second later, he heard the door unlock.
He opened it and walked inside, seeing her with her back against the bathtub, crying with her head on her knees.
Ashley walked away as he closed the door back. He sat down beside her and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his strong, protective arms around her.
He kissed the top of her head repeatedly and whispered sweet nothings in her ear, getting her to calm down.
"Shhh, baby. Don't cry." He whispered, rubbing her back.
She eventually calmed down as wiped her eyes. "No matter what I do, no matter how much I think people have forgotten about it, it comes right back and smacks me in the face. I finally get over it and some idiot brings it back up and makes me feel like shit all over again."
"Baby, you just said it all. Some idiot brings it back up. He was mad and jealous because you rejected him, so he took a low blow. He is worthless and a piece of shit. Anyone who uses your mistakes against you is just using it to cover up their own flaws. It makes them look worse, not you. You are such an incredibly strong woman who doesn't need other people's approval and doesn't care what other people think of you. You take the good with the bad and learn from it and grow from it. It's one of the many things I love about you."
She smiled softly at him as tears still gathered in her eyes. "It just hurts. I was young and it was a mistake."
"I know it was baby. And anyone who thinks different or judges you because of it doesn't deserve to be in your life."
She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.
He wiped her cheek, giving her a soft smile. "I hate to see you cry. When you cry, these beautiful brown eyes instantly get darker and it lets me know just how much you are hurting and it kills me. It makes me want to go back out there and hunt the guy down."
Her shoulders moved slightly with a soft giggle because she knew just how serious he was. She picked up his hand and placed soft kisses on his red knuckles, skipping over the one that was bleeding slightly. He smiled and used his thumb to caress her cheek softly. "No more tears, okay? Let me see that beautiful smile."
She slightly smiled, seeing the hopeful and playful look in his sparkling blue eyes. He smiled widely at her, raising his eyebrows.
When she wouldn't give him a full smile, he smirked mischievously and placed a hand on both her cheeks. He connected their lips, kissing her lovingly and passionately. When he pulled away, he looked at her questioningly before she smiled widely. She giggled softly at his triumphant smile and kissed him again softly.
A knock was heard on the door.
Zac looked at Vanessa for approval before saying anything. "Who is it?"
"Ash."
"Come in," Zac said when Vanessa nodded against his chest.
She opened the door and closed it back softly. Seeing the first aid kit in her hand, Zac and Vanessa stood up.
Ashley placed the kit on the counter and opened it up as she reached for Zac's hand. Vanessa heard Dylan calling for them. As he got closer to the door, she opened it, letting him in.
Seeing what was going on, Dylan shut the door back and gave Vanessa a brotherly hug. She smiled at him when they pulled apart and rested her head against his shoulder as he slung his arm around her shoulders, watching Ashley and Zac.
Ashley looked at Zac with a proud look. "That was one hell of a swing. Broken nose and busted lip at the same time."
He shrugged and smiled softly. "The dumb fuck deserved it. I'm glad Corbin and Ryan were there. Otherwise he would have had more broken bones than just a nose."
She gently washed his hand with warm water before putting some antiseptic on it, making him wince slightly as it rid his cut of germs.
"Fuck!" he said in pain.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I don't want it getting infected or anything. I'm almost done."
He took in a sharp breath between gritted teeth as she placed ointment on the cut. Finally she placed a bandage over it before patting him on his cheek. "What a good boy."
He rolled his eyes and hugged her with one arm. "Thanks Dr. Tizzy," he said with a smile as she handed him a bag of frozen peas for his other knuckles.
Ashley laughed before closing the first aid kit. She turned around and hugged Vanessa tightly, kissing her hair. "I love you," she said.
Vanessa smiled and hugged her back. "I love you too, Ash. Thank you."
Ashley smiled and nodded before pulling away. They all walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen of the beach house.
"Where did everyone go?" Vanessa asked, looking around.
"Home. That guy killed the mood so I told them we would all catch up again sometime soon. Plus, it's almost two. I was getting tired." Ashley said, putting the last of the trash into the garbage can. "You guys are staying though, right?" she asked.
Zac nodded as he grabbed a bottle of water, taking a sip. "Both couches pull out, right?"
Ashley nodded as she turned off the kitchen light and they all made their way into the living room.
"Ash, you take the pull out. I'll be fine on the floor." Dylan said.
Ashley rolled her eyes at him. "Pul-lease. You're not sleeping on the floor. We will share. I'm not separating the lovebirds over there and I don't want you sleeping on the floor. It's totally cool, I promise."
Dylan chuckled and nodded as he laid down, giving space between him and Ashley. Zac and Vanessa used the bathroom to change clothes before laying down on the other pull out mattress.
"Goodnight guys, love youuuuu!" Ashley said in a singsong voice as she turned off the final light.
"Night," Dylan replied, laughing. "Love you too, Ash and Zman and sis-in-law."
"Love you too, Tizzy and Dyl." Zac replied, wrapping his arms around Vanessa as she rested her head on his chest.
"Night Ash and bro in law, love you." Vanessa responded with a slight giggle.
Zac kissed Vanessa softly before whispering to her. "Night babygirl. I love you."
"Goodnight baby boo, I love you too."