Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. I do not know the celebrities mentioned nor does this story imply anything concerning their personal lives. This story was written for entertainment purposes only! This story was not meant to offend or mock any of the celebrities mentioned, nor their fans...Zac Efron and Jesse McCartney are two talented entertainers whose work I respect and love very much. If adult themed fiction involving celebrities might offend you I suggest you stop reading right now.
This story contains mild adult contents, the relevant laws, concerning adult entertainment, of your home state or country apply. All responsibility rests with the reader. This story contains mild profanity, discression is advised. By reading this story you agree with the above. Enjoy the story!
Love, Thy Will Be Done ( a Zac Efron story)
Chapter 1: Thieves in the temple
The first rays of a new morning sun fell through the window of his bedroom. The faint tints of red that started to color the horizon signalled the approaching morning. Even though dawn was just breaking and it was still very early, Zac Efron was wide awake. Another sleepless night had come to an end. The last in a series of many. He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling...not really thinking of anything. He was exhausted and wished for nothing more than a good nights sleep. But as soon as he closed his eyes his mind would wander back to a not so far away past. Images of the sun soaked beaches of Hawaii or stolen kisses in-between taping scenes of `High school musical' would haunt his tormented mind. Sleeping brought no rest, far from it...so for weeks he had exchanged minutes of dream haunted sleep with hours of lying awake. The effects where clearly noticeable, both in his appearance as in his composure. He was a wreck, on his way to a breakdown fast.
Knowing no sleep would come this night he grudgedly crawled out of bed. His head felt heavy and his legs were weak. He slowly walked out of his bedroom into the kitchen. Looking back briefly at the king size bed that for the last month had carried only him. How had it come to this? He still couldn't get his mind around it. One day she was gone, leaving nothing except a quickly written note. When he called her there was no answer. When he mailed her...no reply ever came back. One day he had been on top of the world, happy as can be...the next day, without warning, it was over and she was gone.
He poured himself a cup of cold coffee. Still in the can from last night. Clad in only a tight black CK boxer he stepped into the living room of his apartment. Not sure what to do with himself. It was five O' clock in the morning. He couldn't sleep and he didn't feel like doing anything. He put his coffee down and let himself fall onto the couch, putting his legs on one armrest while his head was supported by the other. He quickly thought over his schedule for the day to come. In the afternoon he was supposed to attend a promotional screening of his upcoming movie `high school musical 2'. It was the last obligation he was scheduled to appear at. The last couple of weeks he had turned down many requests, simply because he couldn't work up the motivation to do anything. He did the rolling stone cover, sure... that he did. It was his attempt at extracting some revenge at her. But after today his schedule was clear, for at least 3 weeks. He looked forward to taking some time of to deal with it all.
"Just one more screening..." he thought to himself.
"Oh fuck!" he suddenly exclaimed. "She's gone be there!" he realized.
For a few moments he didn't know how to compose himself. What should he do. The thought of simply not going crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed that since it would probably not be the smartest thing to do considering he had signed an agreement to be there. Yet the thought of him having to act all giddy and happy in front of the press, exchanging pleasantries with her...the old `all is well in paradise' routine...literally sickened him.
After deliberating with himself for a few minutes he decided the best thing to do would be to go anyway. But he planned on just staying in the background, not draw to much attention to himself. That way he had fulfilled his contractual obligations, yet if he was lucky he wouldn't catch too much of the spotlight. This time he really wasn't in the mood for that.
The rest of the morning he passed with drinking cold coffee and thinking a lot about nothing in particular. He just let the hours drag on till they finally demanded him to get ready. He took a quick shower, put on a pair of faded blue jeans and a `motörhead' T-shirt. He topped it of by pulling his favourite Giants cap over his head. It wasn't exactly the usual attire he would wear to a public event, but he was hoping to fade into the background as soon as he got there.
Finally, after stalling as long as possible, he grabbed his wallet, cell and car keys and headed out the door. The drive to the theatre where the screening would take place was a nervous one. It would be the first time in over a month he would be in the same room as Vanessa. They hadn't seen each-other or spoken to each-other since that evening when he came home to find her and her belongings gone. There was hurt, anger, frustration and confusion raging through his mind just thinking about that day. He slammed his fist on the steering wheel of his car, accidentally hitting the car horn. The sudden sound brought him back to reality. He cursed her name under his breath as he drove on.
He parked his car on the employee's parking lot of the theatre. Away from the main entrance of the building where there would probably be a crowd of photographers and fans waiting for a glimpse of the various actors and actresses passing through. He felt a bit guilty about the fact he was skipping on his fans, but he just didn't feel like he had the strength to put on a brave face today. He entered the theatre through the back entrance, unnoticed by anyone. As he made his way through the building he was approached by one of the ushers.
"excuse me sir, Can I help you?" the young man asked Zac.
"Yes, I think you can" Zac said as he handed the usher his VIP invitation to the event.
"Welcome Mr. Efron..." the usher said as he read the invitation. "We have a seat reserved for you on the front row."
"actually...Ron..." Zac interrupted as he quickly scanned the name tag on the young man's uniform, "If it is at all possible, I'd prefer a place in the back...I'm not feeling too well and I might have to make for a quick exit...if you no what I mean."
"no problem sir" Ron smiled, "I'll show you a seat."
"thank you" Zac said, glad he could stay out of sight as planned. Sure, it had required a little lie, but that was just the way it was.
Ron showed him a seat in the last row, near the exit. Before he left he hesitantly asked Zac for an autograph.
"excuse me sir, I hate to bother you any further,...but would you mind signing an autograph for my little sister...she's a huge fan?"
"I don't mind at all" Zac smiled..."you got a pen?"
Ron handed him a pen. Zac took his invitation for the event and quickly signed it before handing it to Ron.
"Wow,...thanx a lot!...she's going to love this." Ron said enthusiastically.
"No problem" Zac smiled.
Ron thanked him again before he went back to the main hall. Zac took his seat and slowly scanned the room. He was quite far away from the main entrance through which all the VIP's were entering the theatre. Nobody seemed to pay any particular attention to him, which was good. He watched various people, accompanied by a barrage of flashes, make their way to their seats. It was a circus he was glad not to be a part of tonight.
Suddenly he saw her. Accompanied by co-star Corbin Bleu, Vanessa entered the theatre. Flashes lit up, girls were screaming and journalists were falling over themselves trying to throw a question at either one of them. Zac observed the spectacle with a slow burning anger building up inside of him. There she was, smiling, waving at people, signing autographs as if everything was all right with the world. While it wasn't! She had left him, without an explanation, without as much as `goodbye'. His heart was twitching and his blood boiling as he watched her make her way to the seat. It was a testament to his inner strength that he didn't explode right there and then.
After what seemed like an eternity the lights in the theatre finally began to dim slowly, signalling the movie was about to begin. Not that Zac was paying much attention to his surroundings. He was watching his ex-girlfriend like a hawk. Right before the room went completely dark he could have sworn he saw Corbin bleu, who was sitting next to Vanessa, place a quick kiss on her cheek. "What the hell was that !" he screamed inside his head. Then the theatre went dark and the silver screen came alive.
The first 45 minutes of the movie where a living hell for Zac. Not only was the mental image of Vanessa and Corbin replaying over and over in his mind. To make matters worse in front of him was a huge screen on which the movie was played he and Vanessa had made when they were still happy together. By the time the lights went back on for the intermission the frustration in his soul was reaching fever point.
As soon as the lights were back on his eyes fixed again on his co-star and his ex-girlfriend. Sure enough they were holding hands, and right under his eyes they kissed, on the lips this time. Now unable to control himself he aggressively got up and stormed out of the theatre. Keeping a fast pace he walked through the halls straight to the parking lot. Not paying attention to anything or anyone around him. He slammed the door of his car shut behind him. Still too bewildered by what he had seen he just put his hands against the steering wheel, leaning against it as he tried to regain his composure. He didn't know whether to scream or cry.
"how could she...?" he fumed underneath his breath. His mind replayed the many happy memories they had...the trip to Hawaii, dating during the filming of the movie he just watched, his last birthday. "That bitch!" he cursed as he slammed his fist against the steering wheel. Just as he was about to break down in tears he heard a gentle knocking against the passenger side window.
As he looked up he was greeted by a gentle smile he hadn't seen in a long time. He leaned over to open the passenger door.
"Hey Jess, didn't know you where going to be here" he said, greeting his old friend from the Summerland days.
"Are you all right?" was the first thing Jesse McCartney said as he entered the vehicle. "I saw you kind of storming out of the theatre back there" he continued.
"No, I'm not Jess..." Zac replied. "things haven't been well lately. But I don't really want to talk about that right now. How have you been?...It's been like almost a year." He quickly changed subject.
"yeah I know..." Jesse agreed, "Can't believe it has been that long...but we've both been busy like beavers, I guess."
"Well it is good to see you my friend." Zac responded. Seeing his old friend again had actually lifted his spirit a bit.
"So...you're going back in there?" Jesse asked, pointing to the movie theatre.
"No, I'm not...Don't want to be in there. " Zac sighed, "I was just going to go home. Want to come along, we have some serious catching up to do."
"Sure, I'm game" Jesse responded. "Let me just call my driver to tell him he doesn't need to wait for me."
"No need to still be hanging around here then..." Zac concluded as he started the car and drove of the parking lot.
Jesse was glad he had run into his old friend. He and Zac had been best of buds on the set of `Summerland'. A smile would still break on his face as he remembered the pranks they used to pull on each other, or unsuspecting cast members. On their days of they'd be on the beach surfing and swimming from dawn till dusk. But as their schedules had grown bigger they had kind of lost touch with one another. As he looked at Zac he noticed immediately there was something seriously wrong with his best friend. Zac looked much paler than he normally did and there was a tired sort of glaze in his eyes. So when he had agreed to spend some time with Zac today, his concern for his friend had been a factor.
"So what have you been doing lately?" Zac asked as they drove along the freeway.
"Just finished the final leg of my tour..." Jesse informed him, "Now I am enjoying some well deserved R&R. But you haven't been wasting any time either...saw Hairspray the other day. I must say I enjoyed it very much."
"thank you..." Zac smiled briefly, "It was a lot of fun filming it, so ... glad you liked it. Then there was HSM2. shooting that wasn't exactly pick-nick I must say...but now that that's out of the way things begin to calm down a bit."
"...don't forget your rolling stone cover..." Jess added with a sly smile on his face, "now be honest...that was photo-shopped, right?"
"No It wasn't!" Zac responded with fake outrage. "you're just jealous"
"dream on `heartthrob' " Jesse said in-between laughs.
Soon they arrived at Zac's place. I need a beer Zac mumbled as he entered the apartment. "want one?" He asked Jesse, who was right behind him.
"Sure" Jesse answered.
Zac turned on the stereo, as he passed it on the way to the fridge. He grabbed two bottles of beer and headed back to the living room where he and Jesse sat down on the couch.
"Oh, oh...Motörhead..." Jesse said as he nodded at the stereo.
"So...?" Zac shrugged.
"Oh come on, I know you Zac..." Jesse continued, "you only play them when you're really really pissed of. Something is bothering you mate, you alluded to as much earlier. Just spit it, what's going on?"
Jesse wasn't trying to be nosy. He knew Zac a long time and could see something was wrong with his friend. He was obviously concerned.
"Well if you must know..." Zac sighed hesitantly, "Me and Vanessa broke up about a month ago."
"What?!" Jess exclaimed in genuine shock, "what happened?"
"Well, ..." Zac started to explain, fighting back the stinging of tears in his eyes, "One day I came home from work...and she was gone...just like that...her clothes, her cd's, everything...just gone...all I found was this."
He opened his wallet and handed Jesse a wrinkled piece of paper.
-------------------------------------- I'm sorry Zac But this will never work and we both know why. Goodbye, V. ----------------------------------------
Jesse read the note several times before attempting to comment.
"that's all she said?" was all he was able to ask.
"Yes, that's the last I've heard of her." Zac said.
"no wonder you look like shit" Jesse sighed. He would have never believed his best friend could have been dumped like that. During the time he had known both Vanessa and Zac he had thought they were perfect for each other. He had never seen anyone more in love than those two. No wonder Zac was in the dumps like this.
"I haven't been sleeping right ever since" Zac responded, naturally realising Jesse's comment wasn't meant to be insulting. "I just don't understand it...or at least didn't understand it" He added.
"What do you mean?" Jesse asked.
"Well earlier, at the theatre I saw her and Corbin locking lips...doesn't get much obvious than that!" Zac answered with a sarcastic grin on his face.
"Corbin bleu?...that double-crossing son of a bitch!" Jesse blurred out. "So that's why you stormed out of there?"
"wouldn't you?" Zac rhetorically asked. "I thought there was something special between her and me,...was I just seeing things that weren't there? Was it all a sham?" he asked out loud, tears again began to sting in his eyes, this time he didn't even try to hold them back. He had been doing that for too long now. He buried his face in his hands and let his emotions run their course. Most people would be embarrassed crying in front of someone else, but Jesse and Zac had been best friends forever and the thought didn't cross either guy's mind. Jesse put his arm around his friends shoulder trying to let him know he was there for him.
"what did I do to her, that would make her want to leave like that?" Zac asked, tears still falling from his face. "we both know why?...what is that...I don't know shit!". Weeks of suppressed anger and hurt were pushing their way out, and there was no holding them back anymore. At least Zac was lucky not to be alone right now.
"How could she leave me like that, Jess?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. "I was going to marry that woman...if she didn't love me back, why did she stay for two years?"
Jesse didn't know what to say. But then again there wasn't much he could say. All he could do was be there for his friend during this difficult time in his life. He thanked the heavens for crossing their paths again, just when they needed to. He hated the thought Zac had had to carry this all by himself for a month. At least now he could be there if his friendship was needed. It seemed it was needed quite urgently right now.
As Zac began to regain his composure again he became aware of Jesse's arm around his shoulders. It felt comforting knowing at least someone was there for him. At least he had someone to talk to, and he knew he could talk to Jesse about just `bout anything.
"Uhm...Jess, I'm sorry to bother you with this mess...I just..." Zac started.
"There's nothing to be sorry about..." Jesse interrupted him, placing his hand on Zac's knee to underscore his seriousness, "you have every right to be upset...sounds like you went through hell over this, so don't apologize to me...". He paused for a moment, letting his words speak for themselves, "after all, what are friends for?"
This actually brought a little smile on Zac's face.
"thanks" he said,
"don't mention it" Jesse smiled back.
A comfortable silence feel between them. Zac's emotions were settling down after they had burst out earlier. It felt good he had finally been able to let them loose instead of suppressing them. There was still a lot of hurt and confusion inside of him, but for now they weren't pulling him apart like they had earlier. And than there was Jesse. He could always count on him to be there when the going got rough. They had always been there for one another. He smiled a little when he remembered a panic stricken Jesse standing at his door years ago, scared to death cause his then girlfriend was `late'. It turned out to be a false alarm in the end, but for a few days Jesse had been a nervous wreck. In hindsight Zac found the whole episode quite amusing. And now his best friend was back in town. At least one positive note in a rather sad song.
- to be continued soon -
authors note: first of all thanks for reading the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if it wasn't all that eventful but I wanted to set some kind of basis for the continuation of this story. Earlier stories I had written al suffered from a rushed storyline. So now I'd rather get every step of the plot right, even if it might take a bit longer to tell the story.
Please feel free to leave any feedback, comments or suggestions @ beer4myhorses@hotmail.com