RomeoSaveMeღ

location: Close to the airconditioning.

mood: content

music: Demi Lovato

Meticulously, Maggie O’Donnell studied the one grey tiny picture in the 1989 Hayden High yearbook. It had been open on the coffee table, her mom must’ve left it there.
She only intended to have a quick look, maybe have a little laugh at how her mom and dad had looked twenty years back. But she didn’t bring out a sound, after seeing her dad’s picture, her blue eyes growing wider with every detail she took in.
Except for messy, curly hair, seventeen year old Mike O’Donnell differed nothing from the seventeen year old currently playing basketball outside, with her little brother. Mark Gold.
The resemblance was striking.
Maggie shook her head. She’d never realized it was possible for two unrelated people to look so much alike. No, alike didn’t even cover it. They looked… exactly the same.
She was suddenly startled by a thud. The back door falling closed, and she got up, leaving the book on the couch.
In the kitchen she found Mark, his back turned to her, pouring himself some water.
Maggie couldn’t help but step closer, she was deeply confused.
Mark turned around as he heard her footsteps approaching, and smiled, wanting to greet her.
Before he could even say hi, however, two hands slammed to his face, just like happened a couple of days ago.
Wow, Maggie thought, as she pulled his cheeks a little –with the exact same pointy cheekbones she’d just seen in that picture. She traced his nose and scrunched it up a little. They couldn’t be so alike!
“Whoa,” Mark chuckled a little, “you act so much like your mom.”
Maggie continued to study his face, it was identical, including the little birthmark next to his left cheek.
“You look so much like my dad,” she murmured, eventually letting go, stunned by the alikeness. This couldn’t be just a coincidence, could it?
She felt Mark go tense, and she frowned. The look on his face was nothing like the confident, cocky grin he usually sported. He looked so much like that old picture, it was suspicious. There was something that was being kept from her.
“You’re uncle Ned’s son?”
“Yea,” the answer came a little forced, and Maggie paid more attention to it than she maybe should have. Something just didn’t seem right. “You don’t look like him.”    
Mark shrugged.
“You’re seventeen.”
Mark nodded, even though it wasn’t a question, but a statement.
Maggie tried working things out in her head. Mark looked nothing like Ned. He was an exact copy of her dad, on the other hand, who was his best friend. Hell, Mark even looked more like her dad than she or her brother Alex did, his… children. And it was then that it all just sort of clicked.
“Oh my god,” it came out in a shallow breath. She’d just made the discovery of her life, “you’re my brother, aren’t you?”
It was Mark’s turn to frown now. “What?”
“Yes,” it all made sense now for Maggie. That had to be it! Gah, her dad was even worse than she thought! Nagging –yes, lazy –yes, unhappy –yes, uncaring –yes, but cheating? “You’re my half-brother!”
“No Maggie,” she’d barely finished her sentence or Mark had started shaking his head firmly, “no.”
He looked sincere, and for a moment Maggie felt relief, her dad had never cheated on her mom –probably. But then what? He had to be related to her dad! And she and he were the same age.
“My twin-brother?” her voice sounded a little uncertain now, and Mark sighed, losing his tensed behavior of earlier.
“You have to be family,” Maggie went on, her eyes wandering over Mark’s face again. And those eyes, the blue of her dad’s eyes, her own eyes. How come she’d never noticed that before?
“I am family, Mags,” Mark’s reply came, sounding a little offended, “I’m your cousin.”
“Unofficially!” Maggie’s tone of voice was irritated now, obviously she couldn’t figure things out, and that annoyed her. She stomped off, back into the living room. In the kitchen, Mike heaved a deep sigh.
“You have no idea.”

location: 17 Again World. <3

mood: blank

music: Different things.

Seventeen year old Scarlet Porter walked up the staircase, smiling down at her boyfriend, Mike O’Donnell, who was right behind her, and had insisted on carrying her stuff up. Just one of the reasons why Mike was such an amazing guy. Even though Scarlet’s stuff only consisted of a rectangular dark pink bag with flower print, and inside of it some pajamas, a hairbrush, toothbrush and some make-up, and it was not heavy at all, she appreciated the gesture. Scarlet was staying the night at Mike’s home, since her mom was out for work until tomorrow afternoon. She wasn’t too keen on being home alone, and genuinely appreciated Mike’s company.
Mike and Scarlet had been dating for three months now. They’d met about a week before.
The divorce of Scarlet’s parents had been final, and her mom had finally been able to accept that big promotion in LA, implying a move from Connecticut to California, and for Scarlet –a senior in high school –a transfer from Cutler High to Hayden High.
She hadn’t exactly been happy, when she had to start packing her stuff in boxes, say goodbyes to the friends she’d known for years, but little did she know, moving would turn out to be possibly the best change in her life.
They’d arrived on a Friday night in February, and Scarlet and her mom had had a weekend to adjust and equip the cozy little white house they’d be calling a home from now on, until work called, and Scarlet had to enroll in an entirely new school, halfway through her senior year.
She’d never forget the first time she’d stepped through the door of room 114, and neither would Mike.
How she’d walked inside, gracefully and casual in her light blue and white plaid blouse, and jean shorts, the white flats on her feet changing nothing about her adorable five feet tall frame, her honey blonde wavy hair bouncing loosely over her shoulders as she walked.
Her nose was small, her eyes a beautiful shade of green, and her pink lips pursed slightly as she’d been looking around, a little afraid almost.
That was the moment Mike had encountered a feeling, he’d never felt before. Of course he’d had tiny little crushes in primary school, in freshmen year, probably sophomore too. Of course he’d let out a sneaky low whistle as he sat in the cafeteria with his friend from the basketball team, and one of the cheerleaders paraded by in a mini-skirt, or sporting a cleavage, not leaving much to imagination.
He was just the typical, average guy in that way, but this, this was something entirely new, and he couldn’t really place it at first. Just laying eyes on her for the first time, made him feel like he had to have that mysterious girl, walking over to a desk on the row in front of him, a seat to his right, insecurely. He had to have her, or he’d die.
It hadn’t been all that different for Scarlet, as she’d been walking in, checking her schedule again, to not have to face the stares she’d get, being the new kid. It was as she insecurely looked up, to avoid bumping into something or someone and get even more attention drawn to her on her first day, her eyes had met a stunning, bright blue pair, belonging to the most handsome person she’d ever seen.
A guy that was perched on his desk, looking casually hot in a simply dark, almost skinny jeans, black Converse, and a white T-shirt. His hair was a dirty blonde, and even though it was casual, it seemed styled perfectly. The smile on his face as he’d laughed about something one of his friends said, was almost breathtaking, and his cheekbones ultra defined. She could immediately see this guy was popular, and obviously a jock. His body was athletic, and he was surrounded by a group of guys, one of them holding a basketball, and a couple or girls, seeming to cling onto every word the guy said.
It was obvious that, no matter how fast the butterflies in her stomach had seemed to come alive, this guy was way out of her league. He was popular, probably taken too. And she was, well, quiet, and very shy.
It had clearly come as a surprise then, when he’d invited her to sit with him and his large group of friends at lunch on her first day, patting down on the seat he’d kept her. It had come as an even bigger surprise that, after the first couple minutes of trembling hands and a squeaky voice, Scarlet felt miraculously at ease with Mike. And the biggest surprise of all? He’d boldly walked over to her after the final bell on Friday afternoon, and asked her out, on a date.
It had been something simple, there was a small carnival in town, but it were those small gestures, the things no one had ever done for Scarlet before, that made it so special. Sharing cotton candy, the big cuddle toy he’d won her at the rifle gallery –and carried around for her himself –, his arm around her as they took a ride in the bumper cars, the warmth of his hand as it took hers, as they walked towards his shiny silver Audi to get back home. And most of all, the way he’d kissed her goodnight, her leaning against the side of his car, him leaning in, his lips lowering towards hers –Mike wasn’t what you would call tall, but he sure was compared to her –and then they’d kissed. And it had felt completely natural.

It had been feeling natural for a little while now, actually, and today was the day of their three month anniversary. Mike and Scarlet had been out to the cinema, shared a good laugh afterwards in the car, it had been a great evening so far, but one thing was slightly bothering Scarlet. Not once had Mike brought up the subject of them dating for three months. She wondered if he had maybe forgotten.
Had he? And if he had, could she blame him for that? Mike had been the most wonderful boyfriend for the full three months so far. He could give the best hugs when she needed them, or could just randomly pull her in when she felt like it. He could place loving kisses all over her face, and not need a thing in return, just because he loved to see her reaction to them. He was respectful, and nice, and handsome, and… forgetful?
Oh, well, it’s not like three months is such a big deal anyway, Scarlet thought to herself, knowing there was probably a truth in that. A three month anniversary, they’d just been dating for three months, not for a half year or a year even. No, just three months, but those had been three wonderful months, and Scarlet couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Just a reminder from Mike’s side, a happy kiss, that was all she needed, as a sign he still remembered. But there was nothing at all, Mike was just smiling back at her in the dorky way that typified him, as they arrived on the landing.
Upstairs it was very quiet. There wasn’t a lot around here either. Just Mike’s bedroom, the second bathroom, a room with some fitness equipment, and a very big, open landing, with sight of the ground floor, on the brightly painted and furnished living room. Also Mr. and Mrs. O’Donnell’s bedroom was there, but they weren’t sleeping yet at the moment. It was only a quarter to ten in the evening, and Mike’s mom was still watching a soap, as her husband was out working late again.
It tended to happen a lot, with his office job, one Mr. O’Donnell was very dedicated to, even though it was the last place where he’d wanted to end up. Still, inactive, behind a desk. Back in the days, Matthew O’Donnell had cherished the same dreams as his son now, to become a big name in the world of basketball. Everything had worked out perfectly, first on the high school team, then the scholarship to Ohio State, and it was then, in his first real game there, his dream had come crumbling down.
A fall, resulting in ripped ligaments in his left knee, and his career was over. Which was why he was now encouraging his only son, his only child, Mike, to become the best he could be, to chase his dream, both their dream.
Scarlet walked over the creamy carpet, to the second door on the hallway, and opened it. Mike’s room.
It was big, just like the rest of the house, with two adjoining walls painted turquoise, the two others a dark grey.
Against the wall next to the door was a flat screen, on the desk to the right a white MacBook, shiny and thin. There was a stereo set, and a rack with so many DVDs Scarlet doubted Mike had had time to have seen them all. Yes, the guy had all luxury he needed. But that wasn’t what caught Scarlet’s eye, unlike most times she stepped in here. No, it was the big double bed, in the middle of the room, the headboard against the outer wall. Better said, what was on it. She stepped closer to have a closer look, a big smile forming on her face as she realized that the big bouquet laying there, contained both light pink roses as lilies. Her tied favorites.
“Mike…” Scarlet turned around to where Mike stood, grinning, putting her bag down next to the door. “Happy three month anniversary, Scar.”
Scarlet walked over to him fast, wrapping her arms around him tight, happily. He hadn’t forgotten. No, he hadn’t, because Mike was perfect, in every single way.


__ __

Scarlet stood in Mike’s room, staring in the full-length mirror against the wardrobe, pondering about what to wear. She’d bought two new pajamas, just the other day, and she wondered which one Mike would like most. She knew it didn’t really matter, to lay next to him in bed, as he drifted off into a deep sleep, letting out a little snore now and then, but point was she liked them both equally.
The first one was a little nightgown, white, with cute red and grey flowers, the second one a set of a light blue dotted top and shorts.
Mike wasn’t in the room, he had left to give her some privacy. She loved Mike even more for that. He wasn’t like most teenage guys, obtrusive and horny.
Little did she know, that, behind the door that was left ajar, her very boyfriend was standing, a love struck smile on his face, as he watched Scarlet hold both pajamas in front of her again and again.
Never being able to decide. One of those little streaks Mike should’ve found annoying, but in his eyes made his Scarlet even more beautiful.
His smile turned to a grin, and he opened the door slowly to step closer to her. Scarlet seemed too caught up in her pajama-dilemma to take notice.
She was so beautiful, the way her eyebrows were raised in confusion, her intense green eyes wandering between both pajamas, her blonde hair hanging wavy over her shoulders, just the way Mike liked it. She looked cute, in that knee-length white dress and pink cardigan, and yet she had this sexiness about her, that Mike doubted she knew she owned. To him, it made her even more attractive.
He took the few last steps towards her, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and, before she could react, placed a soft kiss in the crook of her neck.
Scarlet looked  inside the mirror, to find Mike behind her, his strong arms holding her around the waist, his lips still close to her neck. She turned her head to face him, and their eyes locked. Confusion met a whole new glare. Scarlet couldn’t really place it.
Then Mike’s lips suddenly captured her own, for a long, slow kiss. As they pulled back, he was still looking at her in that same way, a way she’d never seen him looking at her before.
She cleared her throat a little and looked back into the mirror, were her reflection was still being held tightly by Mike, who lifted his gaze to stare ahead too.
“Which pajamas should I wear?”
How about none? It was the first thought that crossed Mike’s mind, but he just shrugged. “You’re beautiful in everything, Scar.”
He placed another kiss on her cheek. Scarlet felt his hot breath against her skin, it made her feel… anxious? No, anxious wasn’t the right word. Anxious was negative, and this feeling wasn’t negative at all. Yes, she was scared in a way, but not anxious, she didn’t know what she felt. She turned her head back to the side, to find exactly that what she was feeling, displayed in Mike’s bright blue eyes.
And for the first time, she could read it. Love, as their lips met again. Trust, as Scarlet turned around in Mike’s arms. Need, as she slowly dropped the pajamas on the parquet floor and moved her hands up to run them through his dirty-blonde locks. Lust, as his hands lowered from her back, to the end of her dress, where he held it in hesitation.
Scarlet pulled back from the kiss, to find the look in Mike’s eyes had changed, had been traded for concern. It was that, that made her realize that this was what she wanted. To be with Mike.
It was that thought, that made her stand on tiptoe, and attach her lips to his again.
She felt Mike’s lips tug upwards, his other hand getting hold of the hem of her dress as well. The craziest mingle of feelings rushed through Scarlet’s body, as she felt her dress being slid up higher and higher. She was scared, but at the same time felt so safe in Mike’s presence. She felt nervous about this new experience about to take place, and yet so at ease as he kissed her forehead.
Her dress moved on, past her hips, revealing the cotton white briefs, trimmed with lace, she’d chosen to wear today. Not the most impressive ones, but about her only option beneath a white dress.
For Mike, her choice couldn’t have been more perfect. Sweet, it defined her, just the way he liked her.
He slid the light material of the dress up higher, over Scarlet’s breasts, revealing a matching bra, and he couldn’t suppress a grin, as he tugged it over her head, and aimed it behind him. There was this way about him, there was this certain passion in the kisses he started placing over her shoulder and collarbone. And yet, he seemed completely calm.
Scarlet shivered lightly by the thrill of things, as Mike’s kisses left wet patches over her skin, and he made his way back up, only to blow it dry gently again.
Scarlet closed her eyes for a second, enjoying the feeling, before Mike’s lips met with hers again, and they shared a kiss that was more passionate than the ones before.
Her eyes fluttered open again as she felt him take her hands, and move them up to his chest, which was covered by the dark blue shirt he was wearing. Mike smiled down at her, yet with that same concern he’d shown before, and Scarlet began to unbutton the cotton piece of clothing. She could feel her hands tremble just slightly. She didn’t know if it was because she was nervous or afraid, or excited this was happening. That she was sharing this moment with Mike.
She could hear him swallow noisily, as she arrived at the last button, and moved her hands back over to Mike’s broad shoulders, to push the thin material off. It fell down behind him, and she looked back up. His eyes were still worried, they were sincere, and darker in a way too.
She felt him put his lips to hers once again, as her hands wandered over to the hem of Mike’s white V-neck T-shirt, before sliding it up. He only pulled back so she could take it off of him.
Her eyes travelled down his chest, and involuntarily, so did her hands, tracing every outline of his muscled chest, of his rock-hard abs. A low sound left Mike’s lips, and Scarlet could’ve sworn it was a moan. It made her hands stiffen on his body for just a couple of seconds. To think she could have that effect on a guy, it was unusual, and new, but she liked it. She really liked it.
Mike looked down at her again, scanning her face for any signs as to why Scarlet had stopped. There were none, she simply looked up at him, and closed the space between their lips again.
Mike saw that as his cue to hoist her up with one arm, his free hand running through Scarlet’s honey blonde locks. She wrapped her legs around his waist, for stability, kicking off her flats and deepening the kiss as she felt Mike stagger towards the bed, before laying her down on it carefully. As they eventually pulled away again, Scarlet’s breathing had quickened and Mike’s was heavy, as he leaned over her, positioned on his arms, placing another kiss on her collar bone, before trailing them down to her cleavage. 
How was it possible that his Scarlet could be even more beautiful than he already thought her to be?
She let out a little sigh, as his lips moved over to the cotton material of her bra, and his tongue brushed down over her skin, to her belly button, very gently. His one arm slid beneath her back then, and as their lips met again, he pulled her up into a sitting position easily.
Scarlet sucked his lower lip with eager, her skin tingling when she felt Mike’s large, manly hand move over her back. The clasp of her bra clipped open, and the fabric loosened. She pulled back, trembling-handedly helping Mike slide down the straps.
She felt his eyes travelling down her body, before the warmth of his damp, slightly sweaty hands covered both her breasts, and he left a soft kiss on her left shoulder, before looking back up. “You’re beautiful,” he stated, his deep voice in a whisper. It made him even more attractive.
Scarlet smiled a little smile at the compliment, and rested her small hands on Mike’s trained chest, roaming down his defined abs as he leaned in to suck some soft skin in her neck.
It was the most pleasant feeling, and yet it wasn’t enough. She slipped her fingers past the brim of his Calvin Klein boxers –she could tell with her eyes closed, Mike had his brand-loyalties –and over to his jeans, then suddenly stiffening, as she could feel, just how beautiful Mike really thought she was.
Mike, detecting the change in his girlfriend’s behavior almost immediately, pulled his lips away to look up at her, to see her expression had changed. The love, determination and building form of eager that had been there before, had been replaced by fear. Mike was afraid too. Afraid because this was all so edgily new to him, to them. Afraid to disappoint and even make a total fool of himself. And most of all, afraid to hurt the girl he loved the most. “You okay?”
Scarlet stayed looking up at him, opening her mouth to reply, but all that came out was a nervous croak.
Mike moved to caress her cheek, his thumb rubbing behind her ear softly. He felt his erection straining, aching to do what his body had been preparing for, but he ignored it. Mentally, he wouldn’t be ready until she was.  “Scar, we don’t have to do this right now. If you need more time, then…”
“No,” Scarlet interrupted him. Mike looked down at her seriously, waiting for whatever it was she was about to say next. “No,” she only repeated, burying her head in his neck, her lips attaching to his shoulder.
Mike leaned back, cupping Scarlet’s chin to make her look up at him. “You sure?”
His voice sounded almost calm, the opposite of how he currently felt.
Scarlet’s hands moved to the button of his jeans and Mike swallowed nervously, as he felt her unbutton it, unzipping it next. “I’m sure.”


Please comment if you liked it! =) xo

location: Writer's land

mood: confused

music: Taylor Swift -The Fearless Album

Story: Hairspray
Main characters: Zac Efron & Nikki Blonsky/ Zikki
Type of story: Oneshot
Words: 9.619 (in 3 parts)
Rated: PG for some minor sexual content
Plot: Zac's wife Mandy died during child birth, and for the next two and a half years, Zac's on his own to raise his baby girl. But as he runs out of money and applies for his old job again, he needs a babysitter... 
A/N: written in both Zac as Nikki’s POV

Zac’s POV:
I parked my black Audi Q7 on my driveway, in front of my house, and got out of it.
I loved that car, it was one of the remains of my perfect life, two and a half years ago.
I was editor and sports writer of a popular magazine, was happily married to my gorgeous wife Mandy, and our first child was on its way. It was life, better than I could’ve ever dreamed it, until, two months later, on what should’ve been the happiest day of our lives, it all came crashing down...

I swallowed noisily, the memories of that day still sour, as I walked around the car, taking my brief case and black tuxedo jacket from the passenger seat. It was as I slammed the door to my beloved car again, that I heard a loud, squeaky voice, and the biggest grin took over my face.
“DADDIEY!”
I turned around to find a little blonde running over to me, and I immediately dropped my stuff again, to pick her up and give her a big hug as she reached me, arms wide-open hopefully.
I swayed her around happily, pecking her on the forehead quickly as I finished.
“Hey little girl, Daddy missed you.”
She shrieked out of pure joy, put her tiny little hands on either side of my face, and gave me a big, noisy smack right on my lips.
I laughed and ruffled through her honey blonde head of curls playfully, whilst she hugged me tight.
“Abwi mwissed daddiey twoo!”
“She’s been sitting at the window, on the lookout for you for at least the forty last minutes.” I looked up from my daughter, to the front door, which I now realized was open, my mom standing in the doorway, smiling at us.
My smile however, faded rapidly again, at her and Abigail’s last statements, guilt overwhelming me again at the thought of what was to come.
I’d felt horrible today, knowing I’d had to leave my little Abigail for a half day, the first time in her entire life. I’d always been there for her, day and night, constantly. From next week on, that would be changing drastically.
Today, I’d gotten my old job back, which involved me working eight hours a day, six days a week.
Even though I’d always loved my job, I hadn’t been quivering to go back.
My main concern was now my daughter Abigail, she was the reason that had driven me to that one drastic decision two years and four months ago. To quit my job and find another one that granted me more time to take care of my daughter. I’d never been too actively looking for that other job though, and I’d developed to being a full-time Dad.
But, after almost two years and a half, the small fortune I’d made in my early twenties –I was twenty-eight now –was running low, and after some serious conversations with my parents, friends and old-colleagues, I’d decided to apply for my old job again, which happened to be open.
After all, it wasn’t only me I needed to look after, I had a daughter to take care of too, and a house I needed to pay off every month. 
“So...” My mom started, opening the door wider, a signal we should come in, “how did it go?”
I didn’t reply right away, but placed Abigail to sit on my one arm, as I then bent down to pick up my jacket and brief case again with the other.
I then walked in, feeling my little girl cling onto me happily, and my smile returned again, at least a little bit. I was doing what was best for her too, even though it didn’t directly seem like it for me.
My mom closed the door behind me, taking my stuff from me, and placing it on a chair as soon as we entered the kitchen. She was still looking at me curiously, and I took a seat on my usual chair, sitting Abigail on my lap. Mom sat down across from us, the anxiety nearly dripping off her face.
“I got the job,” I said, emotionlessly. Not that I wasn’t relieved that I soon would be making heaps of money again. It was just, money didn’t seem very important no more. My daughter was. And I couldn’t be with her as much as I wanted to anymore. What I liked even less, was that mom and dad also still had their jobs, and coincidentally, my mom had had a day off today, so she could look after Abigail whilst I was gone, but I very well knew, that wouldn’t be possible every day. I’d need to go looking for a babysitter, and I didn’t want that. I didn’t like the idea of trusting my daughter to a total stranger.
“Oh, congratulations!” Mom beamed, reaching out for my hand and squeezing it reassuringly. She knew about the inward conflict I was going through, she understood. But there wasn’t really anything she could do about it anyway. Not until in six years, when she retired.
Things just weren’t easy being a single dad. I needed to take care of my daughter, but make a living just as well.
“Well...” she then continued, less enthusiast, as I didn’t answer, “I guess that means we’ll have to find a babysitter.”
I sighed, looking down at my unsuspecting Abigail, who was cheerily playing with my striped tie. No one would ever be adequate enough to come even close to my daughter.

_ _

location: All around the house

mood: blah

music: Taylor Swift -The Fearless Album

I was sitting on the couch, staring at the framed picture on the mantelpiece.
My Mandy, she was truly beautiful, with her long, honey blonde wavy hair. I could still clearly recall the way it bounced around her shoulders, like cotton candy, as she walked. I still remembered her silly, crazily attractive laugh, the way she even grunted when she couldn’t stop, and how her deep brown eyes watered with laughter. Or the intense stares that she gave me, that sent shivers down my spine. The pout her perfectly rounded, soft lips, made when she was angry, exactly how they tasted, and the way they bared her perfect, white teeth when she smiled. The way she fiercely gestured when she was angry, and the way she could lazily lay in my arms when she was tired. The way I then stroked through her honey blonde locks, which she passed on to our daughter, just like her cute, little nose, and her perfect lips. It were her chin and her big, bright blue eyes, that Abigail had inherited from me. I wasn’t sure about her ears yet, but her tiny hands, her small fingers, were definitely something she got from her mom again.
My Mandy... I still remembered the day she spontaneously came running in my office, waving the positive pregnancy test in her hand. I still remembered how I’d jumped up from my chair, picked her up, and kissed face all over.
We’d been so happy, so excited.
And then, had come the one, fatal day. It had been the middle of the night, when suddenly I was jolted awake rudely. In my sleepy-daze, it had taken me a few minutes to realize what was going on.
Mandy had thought she’d had a contraction. Before I could ask more, another one had come. The labour had started!
I’d helped my wife on the backseat of our Audi, –which I’d never, ever get rid of again –thrown the packed suitcases in the large trunk, and driven off.
Once at the hospital, the labour had gone faster than either of us could have suspected.
We were happy, excited, relieved, enthusiastic. Mandy would be soon free of the torturing pain I could obviously see her going through, helplessly. And we’d get to meet our first child, the little wonder we’d been looking forward to ever since that particular day at my office.
If back then, I would’ve known what I knew now... Well, it was no use drudging over it. I didn’t know. No one knew. No one could. Two tiny hours later, after loud shrieking and shouting, hard pushing and crying from a brave Mandy, there’d been the most adorable, slimy wail. Our daughter. And I’ve never known if Mandy had ever seen her.
Suddenly, as I’d looked at her proudly, her eyes had turned away –the most terrifying sight I’d ever seen –and I’d never seen those intense brown eyes ever again. 
I was devastated, destroyed. I’d lost my wife that day. Suddenly I was on my own again, with a daughter I needed to look after. Of course I’d been a horrible Dad the first week or so, maybe even a few days longer.
All I could think about was my wife, my beautiful wife, she couldn’t be gone.
I lived in disbelief, denial. Luckily, I’d gotten a lot of support from my parents –I couldn’t count on Mandy’s, she had been an afterthought, her parents had been at a blessed age. Her mom had been in an old people’s home for quite a while, her dad had passed away the year before.
When eventually, I’d learned to face the truth, I’d toughened up, and gave up my job to raise my daughter. It wasn’t easy though. I missed my wife like crazy, I still did. No one could ever take her place. Mandy was still the love of my life, I hadn’t been with another woman since her.
Of course my friends and family had tried to set me up, but I never showed up on any of the dates they’d planned out.
I simply wasn’t ready yet. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. The babysitter. My Mom had arranged everything. I’d tried, but I’d rejected every candidate. No one was ever good enough. I hadn’t met the babysitter yet, but Mom had reassured me she was a neat girl, with an appropriate resume and wonderful cooking skills. Not that she’d really left me a choice to reject her anyway. And time was running out so I tore my eyes away from the picture to look at my daughter, little Abigail, who was playing with a couple of singing cuddle bears on the carpet. I smiled weakly and ruffled through her curls as I got up and made my way towards the front door.
It was my one but last free day, so I could only hope this first encounter with the babysitter would go smooth, both for me as for Abigail.
The bell rang again and I sped up my pace, reluctantly opening the door as I got there.
I kept quiet for a second, taking in the girl’s surprisingly pleasant and sweet appearance. She was short, very short. I doubted she’d reach up to my shoulders, if she was standing next to me. She was curvy too, dressed in a grey dress and a light blue cardigan over it. She had shoulder length, shiny brown, straight hair, big brown eyes, her make-up was natural and the smile she gave me, genuine and sweet. I smiled back as she held out her hand. She gave a confident impression. I liked that.
“Hello, Mr. Efron. I’m Nikki Blonsky, your new babysitter.”
I nodded politely, shaking her little hand. “Hey Nikki. Please call me Zac.”

Nikki’s POV:
Wow. So this was my new boss? The twenty-eight year old widower with a little girl of two?
He was not at all what I had expected him to be, to say the least.
He seemed like the average young man, not a widower and definitely not a father. He was tall, muscled, and casually clothed, in a washed-off jeans and a green T-shirt. His hair was dirty blond, and the length every cool teenage guy would wear it nowadays. It was straight, and casually messy. His smile, and with that his clearly revealed pointy cheekbones, gave him something childish, but the few beard stubbles and slight moustache he’d grown, made him look mature again. And his eyes, so breathtaking. They were bluer than any ocean I had ever seen. Bright, and so fascinating. It made me feel a little intrigued as he rested them on me. “Nice to meet you, Zac. So, where’s Abigail?” I knew that was his daughter’s name from what his mom, Starla, had told me after I got hired. I also l knew that his wife’s name was Mandy, and that she had passed away during the delivery. Zac smiled and closed the door behind me quickly, then turned around. “In the living room, playing with Mr. and Mrs. Teddy, follow me.”
I chuckled. As I followed Zac, I could clearly see his grey Calvin Klein boxers peeking above his jeans. On top of that his remark made me laugh. He was nothing like the other dads I had babysat for.
Zac opened a door, and my jaw dropped, as I suddenly found myself in the living room, if that’s what you could call it. Everything was obviously in the sign of the one little girl living here. Next to the flat screen was a little pink TV with a built-in DVD-player and above it a wooden rack with Disney classics and about all SpongeBob episodes ever made.
Next to the door was a toy-kitchen that seemed better equipped than my own kitchen at home, on the floor was a large, pink princess-carpet, full of cuddly toys, and against the walls were boxes and boxes filled with more toys.
“Wow.” I breathed, stunned. It was like Abigail had her own, personal play garden.
Now it was Zac’s turn to chuckle, as he walked over to the little blonde, sitting in the centre of her carpet, playing with two teddy bears. “Abi,” he spoke in a sweet, patronizing voice, as he picked her up, “there’s someone daddy wants you to meet.”
As he turned around and I laid eyes on Abigail, I was astonished once again. She was gorgeous. With her honey blonde curls, her big, blue eyes, her adorable yellow dress. She seemed momentarily confused by the long sentence Zac had spoken, but seemed to get it, once she laid eyes on me.
She really was a pretty girl, with the traits she’d inherited from her handsome dad, but I also saw characteristics in there, that were different, but equally perfect. Her mom must’ve been a really beautiful woman too. 

Zac’s POV:
“Abigail, this is Nikki. She will look after you when daddy isn’t here. Nikki, this is my little girl, Abigail.” I smiled, proud of my daughter, but at the same time, guilty that I’d be leaving her from the day after tomorrow on.
Nikki smiled her sweet smile at Abigail, which made me feel a little more at ease about the entire thing.
“Hi there, Abigail, I love your dress.”
Abigail however, turned to me fast, her eyes sad. “Daddiey nwot hewre?” she repeated my words as a question, in a sad, alarmed voice. I sighed, feeling my heart break. This wasn’t going to be easy.
“Sweetie, daddy’s got to work. To make money.” I spoke slowly, trying to make her understand. “But I will be back every day. Promise.”
Abigail kept on looking at me sadly for a few more seconds, but then she eventually seemed to turn. “Daddiey stwill rwead two Abwi?”
I smiled again, and nodded, giving my daughter a big hug before I held her up so we were face to face. “Of course daddy’s still gonna read to you. Of course.”
Then Abigail’s smile returned, and I placed her back into my arms, stroking her hair.
Nikki apparently saw that as a signal to interact with Abigail again, because she lowered herself to my daughter’s height, smiling. “Can I play along with you? We can get to know each other.”
Abigail nodded, and started wriggling her way out of my arms. I smiled contently as I put her back down. Nikki seemed to already have won her trust, that was a good thing. It was really important to me that she and my daughter would get along.
My smile turned into a genuine grin when Abigail spontaneously handed Nikki one of the bears and started playing.

_ _

I entered my house satisfied. I had every right to be happy. My first day at work had gone great. Of course there had been memories. I’d gotten a new desk, chair, and the computer had been replaced by a white Apple notebook I was allowed to take home, but the office was still the same. Still the same as where I’d been shooting glimpses at the engagement ring I’d bought my Mandy, practising and changing my little proposal speech over and over again, still the same as where her picture had been standing, still the same as where she’d run in, waving the positive pregnancy test.
Luckily, meeting up with a lot of my old-colleagues had helped me taking my mind off her, and off Abigail too.
That’s why I was twice as happy now that I was home. I was getting to see my little girl again, finally!
Eight hours could be so long, time crawled.
To my surprise, it was quiet as I walked in the living room, no sign of my Abigail. I frowned and legged into the kitchen, where I found Nikki standing behind the cooker, with her back turned to me.
“Nikki, where’s Abigail?” I asked worriedly, stepping closer to her, scanning through my entire kitchen.
Nikki, obviously startled, turned around quickly, again with that sweet smile of hers. “Oh, hi sir.”
I smiled back a little, though still confused as there was no sign of my daughter in the kitchen either.
“Sorry, hi. And stop with the sir.” I chuckled now, even though I was serious. She’d done it too when she came to meet me and Abigail two days ago, and it made me feel uncomfortable. Sir or Mr. Efron was so stiff, boring, I liked people addressing me with my first name.
“Sorry,” Nikki apologized now, chuckling as well, “a habit. And Abigail’s taking a nap. She was tired. I couldn’t get her to sleep this noon, she kept on asking for you. You want me to get her?”
I swallowed, as guilt mastered me again. My daughter had skipped her afternoon nap because of me, because I’d left her behind. But on the other hand, I’d went out to make money, to give her the best life I possibly could. Did that make me a bad dad?
“No,” I shook my head, “it’s okay. Just let her sleep.” I smiled weakly again, as I got aware of a delicious scent filling the kitchen. I realized it came from whatever Nikki was cooking. “What are you making? It smells great.”

Nikki’s POV:
I smiled big at his compliment. “Thanks, I’m preparing my own spaghetti-recipe. You can re-heat it in the microwave when Abigail wakes up.”
I’d been to cooking school for years. My big dream had always been to own a restaurant, but that was a huge investment, and I didn’t have the money. So, to make a few bucks to pay my rent, I occasionally babysat for a few families, and that set the ball rolling. Babysitting was now my official job. “You want some?”
“Oh, if it’s not too much trouble, you know,” Zac started, smiling. I smiled back, at just the sight of his pointy cheekbones. They made him look cute.
“Otherwise I’ll just order some take-out.”
I chuckled. He indeed seemed like the typical take-out or shove-it-in-the-microwave kinda guy.
“No, not at all. Now that I’m busy anyway.”
Zac nodded, and opened the cupboard next to me, taking out a few plates, glasses, and cutlery. “We’ll eat in the living room.”
We? I looked him up and down surprised. In other families, I never really ate along. Usually I disappeared again when one of the parents came home. “Oh, I don’t know if I should...”
Zac shut the door of the cupboard again and looked up at me, smiling friendly.
“You’d do me a favour by having dinner with me. I haven’t really dined with a grown-up since...” there was a catch in his voice and he looked down, “well...”
“Okay, I’ll stay for dinner then,” I quickly broke the silence that followed his unfinished sentence. Even though it wasn’t necessarily my fault, I felt guilty bringing his past up.
Zac cleared his throat, and walked to the doorway. “I’ll be in the living room.”

_ _

With a bowl full of hot pasta, a big spoon and a mat, I entered the living room, where I found the square, light-wooden table set for three, with two chairs and a high baby-chair, and Zac sitting on the white couch in front of the artificial fireplace, staring at a picture on the mantelpiece. As I approached I could see there was a young woman on it. A beautiful woman with long, honey blonde, wavy hair and chocolate brown eyes. Mandy? She must be.
Zac hadn’t heard me coming in and I wasn’t sure how to make him aware of my presence, so I quietly walked over to the table and put the mat on the centre of it. It was only as I put the bowl of pasta on top of it with a light thud, Zac startled and looked at me.
I looked back, my face expressionless, not saying a word.
“Um,” Zac started, looking from me back to the picture, “this is my wife, Mandy.”
I noticed he spoke about her in the present tense, and I should decided I should too. “She’s beautiful.”
Zac smiled lightly as he turned back to me. “She is...” it was then he seemed to realize his use of tenses, and he corrected himself, “was.”
I looked at him empathically and carefully sat down on the empty spot next to him, hoping he didn’t mind. “You must miss her...”
Zac sighed, a deep, sad sigh. “You have no idea...”
It was silent for about a minute, as I wrecked my mind about something to say, vainly. To my surprise, it was Zac who then broke the silence. “How old are you, Nikki?”
I looked up at him, not knowing how to interpret his question. Had I said something wrong? Did he think I was too young to babysit his daughter maybe? “Twenty-four, sir.”
I heard Zac taking a deep breath, thinking before he spoke again.
“The same age as I was when I got married to Mandy.”
I only nodded, I wasn’t sure what to say on that.
“And could you possibly stop calling me sir?” Zac was smiling weakly now, and I chuckled.
“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again... Zac.”
Zac smiled bigger at me, before he looked away again, and the atmosphere got back to serious. “So, Nikki, do you have a boyfriend?”
“No, I haven’t.” I could just stop myself from calling Zac sir again. He just seemed so serious in comparison to when I’d first met him.
“Well then, I’m not sure if I should suggest you to find one or not. I can guarantee you, being in love is the best feeling in the world, but when you lose the person you love, it’s...”
Once again he couldn’t finish his sentence, and without thinking I moved one of my hands to his back to rub it.
I felt so sorry for him.
Zac looked back up at me with a weak smile, but I could spot the moisture in his eyes. He must’ve gone through a hell.

Zac’s POV:
I could feel the tears stinging my eyes as my mind filled with memories of Mandy again.
Ugh, this happened every time I talked about her, which why I was usually closed off about it. There was another reason why I didn’t talk about her too much too, my little Abigail, I had to be strong for her.
“So, um... The pasta’s getting cold.” Nikki awkwardly changed the subject, and I was grateful for that.
I couldn’t handle more of the memories tonight, of how Mandy had whispered nicknames into my ear, of how I’d rubbed her pregnancy bump lovingly, ...
I didn’t want to be reminded of that now.
“Yea, let’s eat.” I spoke, after clearing my throat. I got up and so did Nikki, and we walked to the table.
Just seconds after we’d both sat down, a wail sounded from the baby alarm on the cupboard. Nikki hurriedly got up, but I signalled her to sit down and made my way to the staircase myself. “I’ll go.”
I hurried upstairs, excited to get to see my little girl again, who stopped her crying abruptly as I stormed in the room. A beatific smile took over her face as she saw me and she held her arms out, jumping up and down eagerly. “DADDIEY!”
A love struck grin took over my face as I rushed over to the baby bed and hoisted Abigail out of it. I hugged her tight, and she gave me a big, wet kiss on my cheek.
“Daddiey bwack!” I laughed and kissed her on her perfect little nose. “Of course daddy’s back, Abi. So did you have fun with Nikki today?”
She nodded, giving me another big hug, and I smiled contently. I didn’t have any complaints about Nikki either so far. Seemed like she’d be staying for another while.

_ _

“Guess who’s back?” I shouted through the hall, and immediately my daughter came storming in, arms wide-open again. “DADDIEY!”
I laughed and picked my little Abigail up, planting a kiss on top of her blonde curls happily, as I made my way further down the house.
In the kitchen, I found Nikki hurriedly stocking the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
She looked up as I walked in though.
“Hi s... Zac.” She smiled apologetically as she was about to call me sir again, and I smiled amused.
“Hi Nikki,” I then greeted her, walking over whilst I put Abigail down, “I have a huge favour to ask you...”
Nikki eyed me curiously and I chuckled. “I want you to teach me how to cook.”
She raised an eyebrow playfully as she shut the dishwasher. “Cook?”
“Yea,” I assented, nodding hopefully, “just the simple things, you know. You’re not here on Sundays and I think my little Abigail deserves a proper meal.”
She laughed a short, loud, but contagious laugh, before she nodded. “Alright, I’ll try.”
“Thank you so much!” I grabbed both Nikki’s hands and squeezed them gratefully, smiling. 

Nikki’s POV:
I laughed. “You’re welcome.”
Of course I’d teach Zac how to cook. It meant spending more time with him and Abigail, and less on my own at home. I really liked these people, even though I’d only been working for them for about a week or two.

_ _

location: Bed

mood: blank

music: Taylor Swift -The Fearless Album

“Okay, I think I got it, now what?”
I smiled at Zac’s cheerful attitude and handed him an egg. “You break this and throw the content in.”
I half expected Zac to look at the egg confused, but apparently he’d seen some cooking programs on TV, because, like a real chef, he smacked the egg against the edge of the one bowl, and happily threw it in. Too happily, seemed, as the content in the bowl splattered up and a big drip of the wet, crumbly mixture ended up right in the middle of my forehead. Zac turned to me, and as he spotted this, started laughing loudly.
“Gee, I’m so sorry, I...” and he was off again, whilst I quickly wiped off the mess.
I smiled too however. It was great to hear Zac laugh. He actually was a fun, cheerful person to be around when he wasn’t confronted with his past.
“Sorry,” he stopped laughing, now simply smiling back at me, as his hands reached out to my forehead, “you got some more in your hair.”
I wanted to reach up to get it out when I realized Zac was already doing it for me. I looked up at him, his gaze suddenly locking with mine.
Gosh, those eyes, so blue, so deep, so perfect. I suddenly felt my skin burning, where his fingers touched it, and I averted my eyes quickly, nervously.
That was more than just liking him!
That wasn’t good. He was my boss for good’s sake! A father! A widower!
“Done,” I heard his deep, male voice, and his fingers pulled away.
My skin tingled now, and I didn’t dare to look up, afraid his eyes were still on me. “Alright, uh... Next egg.”
Zac chuckled, but grabbed another egg anyway. I watched him break it as in the background, I heard Abigail laughing at the cartoon she was watching on her pink TV.

_ _

I laughed as Abigail shrieked out loud. She was adorable.
It was a hot day and we were out in the garden, playing with water guns.
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from the front of the house, and Zac appeared around the corner. “I’m home.”
I looked him up and down surprised. He’d only left for work three hours ago!
“You’re early?”
“Yea, took the rest of the day off.” Zac smiled, as he bent down to Abigail, who was running up to him. But instead of hugging him, she all of a sudden shot water on him.
She shrieked and I laughed out loud. “Good girl! Get him!”
Abigail laughed and ran away as Zac made a scary face, and then began to chase her.
I watched them, amused, softened. They were so cute. Suddenly Zac stopped in front of me and signalled for me to give him my water gun. I shook my head and grinned, pointing it at him and shooting water as well. “Don’t you d... AHH! You’re bad! You both are! Plot against me, huh?”
He shook his hair in an attempt to get the water out, and I momentarily stiffened, staring at him. He looked so sexy whilst doing that!

Zac’s POV:
Just as I stopped shaking my hair, I felt another coldness on my back and I turned around quickly, to find my daughter staring at me, shrieking. I grinned and stepped closer to her. “Just you wait!”
She laughed and started running around me. I turned around rapidly again, to find a water stream hitting my face, as I bumped into Nikki. I lost my balance, and fell forward, taking her down with me, eventually landing on top of her.
“I’m s...” I stopped halfway my apology, as my eyes met up with hers. She wasn’t laughing, she wasn’t mad either, she was just staring. And I stared back at her, into her big, brown eyes, intensely gazing back at me.
I had never realized how beautiful she was, with her damp, brown hair sticking to her face, her mouth slightly open to breathe, her curvy lips pouted.
“Yay, daddiey horwsebwack rwiding!”
I gasped as suddenly I felt pressure on my back, Abigail, who jumped on me, and now sat, wiggling enthusiastically.
I started laughing and Nikki did too, the electricity that had just been between us, gone.
“No, little lady, not now.” I grinned, getting up slowly, reaching out for my daughter, whom I carefully helped sliding off my back. Then, I held my hand out towards Nikki and, as she accepted it with a grateful smile, pulled her up.
“Are you okay?” I gave her hand a slight squeeze before letting go of it, without really intending to. It just happened involuntarily, I guessed. An automatic response of my body to the tingling I was suddenly feeling in my fingers.
“Yea,” Nikki smiled, just quickly, at me, before she turned away to look at the house. “I’m fine. I should probably start preparing lunch.”
“Um,” I wanted to say something to stop her from going inside, but I was at a loss for words, “sure.”

_ _

I arrived back in the living room after putting my little Abigail in bed and watched her drift off to sleep. She had been tired, since she’d missed her afternoon nap.
Well, this had to count as it, but it was now quarter to five in the evening.
Abigail hadn’t wanted to go to sleep so me and Nikki had put on a movie, taken her for a walk, and when we’d gotten back, she’d wanted ice-cream. Of course, I couldn’t deny my little girl anything, so I’d sat with her on my lap for nearly a half hour, as she’d spilled half of the ice-cream on her clothes by putting way too big bites on her little, plastic spoon. It had been an adorable sight though, and Nikki was right there offering me help.
I didn’t need it though, when I was home, I wanted to be a daddy to my daughter, then Nikki was just here because I enjoyed her company, and Abigail did so too.
As I happily jumped off the last step, I laid eyes on Nikki, with her back turned to me, her large white and red-dotted textile purse on the couch, about to put her jacket on.
I frowned, confused, as I made my way over to her. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” she spoke, finishing putting on her jacket, searching her purse next, “you’re home and well, Abigail’s sleeping. I already stayed for way too long.”
“No,” I said, finding myself longing to keep her here longer. I was happy whenever Nikki was around, for some reason. I liked spending time with her, “you don’t have to go.”
“But it’s getting late, and you took the day off to be with your daughter. I already stayed longer than I should, I...”her voice broke when she turned around to find me facing her. Her mouth was still slightly opened, like she wanted to say more, but the look in her eyes, told me she couldn’t. It was a mixture of doubt –about whether to go home or stay obviously, guilt –for thinking she interrupted my day with Abigail –and some emotion I couldn’t place. I studied her face slowly. Her lips seemed red against her light skin, on her cheeks was a light pink blush, and her eyes... Her eyes, they were... perfect...
“Kiss me...” I whispered, reaching out for her upper arm, to pull her against me, in the unexplainable need to.
“Yes sir.” Nikki’s voice trembled, as she leaned in, standing tiptoe, to place her lips on mine, my entire body burning by the simple contact we made. I pulled back just seconds later, surprised by what she’d done, what I’d asked her to do, but not with the slightest regret. I smiled, and moved my mouth over to her ear now. 
“That wasn’t an order...” I whispered, placing a soft kiss on her earlobe, feeling the cold metal of her white golden hoop against my upper lip. “And stop with th...”
I couldn’t finish, for suddenly, I found my lips on another pair again, Nikki’s. I chuckled, and felt her lips tug upwards too, amused, as her small arms snuck around my neck.
They felt good there, in place, and I abruptly pulled her closer to me. Nikki pulled back, letting out a short chuckle, and I couldn’t suppress a grin.
 I moved my hands over to her lower back, as Nikki put her mouth to mine again, starting with quick, short pecks, slowly converting into longer, lingering kisses.
I let my tongue roam over her lips, and she opened hers slightly, to give my tongue entrance, in the search for hers. I found it just as quickly as Nikki’s little hands found the hem of my grey T-shirt, and I felt her sliding it up.
Too soon, for I was enjoying the feeling of her tongue brushing against mine, I had to pull back so she could tug my T-shirt over my head, and throw it behind her. Then, I went straight back to kissing her.
I needed more of those lips, that new taste, which I couldn’t identify. I softly bit her lower lip, then sucked it between both mine, as my hands made their way to the end of her dress, rolling it up gently, taking my time, feeling up her soft thighs along the way.
Nikki’s skin burned beneath my touch, and I felt a nervous warmth taking over me.
I pulled back and placed kisses on her thigh, licking the soft skin gently until my lips reached her panties.
I opened my eyes –which had been closed in absolute pleasure –to discover pink, lace-trimmed panties, and I grinned, my hands making their way up higher, sliding Nikki’s dress along.
She then put her hands on my chest, trailing one of them over to my abs, and I stopped every of my own movement, as she started rubbing them, to moan in pleasure. Oh, she was going to be the death of me.
Nikki giggled, obviously at my response, and I looked up at her, grinning, another moan escaping my lips as she moved her one hand over to join her other one. “God, Nikki...”
She giggled some more, and it was then I realized I’d dropped her dress. Damn. Oh well, enough time wasted.
I moved away from the couch, staggering to the staircase, pushing Nikki ahead of me.
Breathing heavily, yearning for more, I began making my way up, as I suddenly felt one of Nikki’s hands travel down lower, over my jeans, taking a grip of my manhood. I gasped and roughly turned to my side, pushing her up against the wall, halfway the staircase.
My lips attacked hers, as her hand stroked me, drawing the bigger part of my blood down there.
“Playtime... is... so... over,... Blonsky.” I murmured in her ear, between kisses, as I felt myself erect.
I opened my eyes to find Nikki grinning up at me, and I grinned back, panting, as I continued my way up, in an almost running pace.
I stormed in the bedroom and kicked the door closed with my foot, before staggering to my bed, pushing Nikki down on it, my hands immediately sliding up her dress, way quicker now.
In under seconds I’d pulled it over her head and tossed it behind me, revealing her pink, lace lingerie set.
I laughed shortly, contently, before I leaned myself over her, my one hand crawling around her back to unclasp her bra.
Whilst I removed it, I felt my jeans dropping to my ankles, and I kicked them off rapidly, then tore off Nikki’s pink bra. I licked in between her breasts as I felt my way to her panties, tugging them down in one swift movement.
It was Nikki’s turn to gasp now, as I took one of her nipples in my mouth, moving her hands over to my boxers, were my erection was throbbing.
She slipped them off quickly, moaning whilst I manually indulged her other breast too now.
Kicking off my boxers, I felt Nikki’s hands move to my hair, taking a firm grip of it, as she pulled my head up to face her, severely. “Just do me,” she moaned, her eyes nearly closed, “now.”
I let out a short chuckle, panting heavily with lust. “Yes ma’am.”

_ _

Nikki’s POV:
I lay in Zac’s arms, smiling at how cute he was sleeping. He’d dozed off just minutes after our lovemaking.
I wondered if he’d had sex after Mandy, before this.
According to what his mom had told me –that he hadn’t had a woman in his life since Mandy –I guessed not.
That thought made me feel sorry for him.
He was such a young, handsome guy, he had so much responsibility to take, he didn’t deserve all that had happened to him.
But then again, he had been such a beast under the sheets, it was a little hard to believe he hadn’t had sex in over two years. Almost three, most likely, since his wife had been pregnant too.
Unless, he’d bottled all of it up so, that, now he had had the chance to let it all out, he’d enjoyed it to the fullest.
I sighed, I didn’t want to be thinking about this, it was his past, and Zac was just a normal man, who deserved a happy life, and I hoped, after today, I could be part of it.
I breathed out a happy sigh at that last thought and closed my eyes, as I rested my head on Zac’s chest, his muscled chest.
I wondered if he worked out, he must. His body was simply divine.
I wriggled a little in Zac’s arms, my smile still on my face, until I lay just right. “Hmm...”
“DADDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEY!”
My eyes shot open abruptly again, as Abigail’s voice echoed through the entire upper floor.

Zac’s POV:
I got rudely awoken from my sleep, as my daughter’s voice squeaked through the hall, calling for me.
“DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDIEY!” she called again, now putting the emphasis on another part of the word, but nevertheless, still tried drawing the same amount of attention to her.
I opened my eyes quickly, rubbing the sleep out of them. It was only then, I got aware of pressure on my chest, and an unfamiliar warmth next to me. I quickly turned aside, my eyes widening to find Nikki slowly sitting up, the sheets falling off of her, to reveal her naked upper body.
That was enough, to make it all come rushing back. Oh god. I had slept with Abigail’s babysitter!
What kind of a dad was I? What kind of a husband was I? How could I’ve done this? I should be ashamed of myself!
“DAAAADDIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!” my daughter’s voice pulled me out of my fuddle, and I sat up, still inwardly blaming myself. I was such an ass! I shook my head, disapproving of my own behaviour, as I got out of the bed quickly, getting in my boxers and jeans again, then racing over to the closet to get a new T-shirt, under loud cries of my little Abigail.
“Daddy’s coming, sweetie.” I called back, hurriedly pulling my T-shirt over my head, and rushing out of the room, over to my daughter’s, which was right next to us.
I couldn’t believe what I’d done! And with my daughter sleeping in the room next to us! She could’ve easily heard us! Not that my actions could be approved even if she had just slept through it all.
I was a married man! A Dad. I’d had no respect for my wife and daughter, and I was deeply ashamed, and furious at myself. Stupid dickhead you are, Zac!
I arrived in my daughter’s room in under seconds, and rushed over to Abigail, not bothering smiling back, as she traded her crying for a happy shriek. It made me feel even more guilty, and I closed my eyes for a second, trying to keep myself from blaming myself for every fault thing in the world.
As I opened them again, I was standing in front of Abigail’s bed, and my little girl’s arms were reaching out excitedly. “Daddiey!’
I sighed, and reached out for her, picking her up into my arms, stroking her hair comfortingly, like I wanted to soothe her, after what I’d done to her, by sleeping with her babysitter, with Nikki.
“Shh, daddy’s here, sweetie.”
I felt Abigail cuddling into me, and I hugged her back, still stroking her hair.

_ _

I shut the door of the microwave, in which was a plastic little cup, containing chocolate milk for Abigail. Her favourite drink when she woke up.
I turned back to my daughter then, who was sitting in her high chair, stamping her feet impatiently, waiting for her hot chocolate to come.
It was then I caught sight of the figure standing behind her, in the doorway, looking at me sheepishly. Nikki...
I sighed and looked down for a second, biting my lips, as I thought. Now what? We needed to talk, obviously. But what was I going to tell her? That it was a mistake? That my hormones had taken over after three years without, and I’d been stupid? That she had to leave? That she was fired?
I couldn’t do that, fire her. Even though it was the best option, I was just as much to blame as she was, or maybe even more. After all, it had been me who started it.
As I looked back up, Nikki smiled at me weakly, yet sweet. The smile she usually wore.
“We need to talk.” I mouthed, just as the microwave beeped, and Abigail shrieked with excitement. But I saw Nikki nod, and I turned around to get my daughter’s hot chocolate. I still wasn’t sure what to tell Nikki. I didn’t even know what I wanted. For this not to have happened. But it was too late of course.
“Chowclawt!” Abigail squeaked behind me, and I hurried to get her favourite drink out. I put my finger in the cup quickly, and then tasted. It wasn’t too warm, just slightly hotter than tepid. Like it always was. I didn’t want my daughter to burn herself. I took the lid with the spout off the counter and placed it on the cup, handing it to my little girl as soon as I could. “There you go, Abi.”
Abigail pulled the cup towards her, taking it by its two ears, and bringing it to her mouth happily.
I watched her as she took her first sip. She seemed perfectly content, and I felt free to look at Nikki again, who in the meantime, had walked over to us.
“I’m sorry for my behaviour earlier,” I began, apologizing. Abigail wouldn’t hear what we were talking about, since she was enthusiastically drinking her hot chocolate, and if she did, she wouldn’t understand what we meant. “I shouldn’t have...”
“It’s okay,” Nikki interrupted me, her smile fading, just slightly, “I understand.”

Nikki’s POV:
I didn’t, really. He had asked me to kiss him. I’d thought he’d felt the same way about me than I had about him.
Apparently I’d been mistaken.
“It’s just, it’s been three years, and I guess... I just... lost myself in the moment...” Zac explained, with the necessary effort to find his words. So I had been right. It had indeed been three years since he’d last had sex.
So what did that mean? He used me and regretted it now?
No, I didn’t want to think about him like that. Didn’t want to think about it like that. He had felt the same way about it than I had, the way he had looked at me outside today. There was no way someone could fake that, especially not an innocent hardworking single father. And it couldn’t be the result of three years without a woman either. The look in his eyes hadn’t been hunger, not like it was when we’d arrived in the bedroom. It had been something different. I’d thought. Had I thought wrong? Had I seen it right?
“Don’t worry... If you want me to shut up and forget about it, I will, sir.” I intended to say that last word to make my statement official, to show Zac that he was still my boss, and his wish was my command.
It didn’t work. That one, three-letter-word, brought back all memories of earlier. All of it. The passion, the eager, the intensity.
Obviously, it had the same effect on him. He looked away, the blush on his cheeks exposing his thoughts.
“Umm, yea. I’d prefer you’d leave now, Nikki. And take the day off tomorrow. I’ll call you about this.”
I looked at Zac confused. What did he mean, he’d call me? Why did he want me to leave? Who was going to take care of Abigail tomorrow when I wasn’t allowed to be here? Why wasn’t I? Was he going to fire me? Find another babysitter? Fire me over the phone?
I kept on looking at my boss for a second, but he simply stayed facing down, away from me.
I pulled my conclusions from that, and turned around, to get my stuff, and leave...
_ _

Zac’s POV:
I sat at the table, tapping my fingers on the dark wooden surface, my mom sitting across from me, giving me worried glares, as Abigail was in the living room, playing with the brand-new doll I’d bought her today, in the big store we’d stopped by before making our way over to my parents’ house. I had taken the day off, because I’d told Nikki yesterday, not to come to work today.
I didn’t regret, I didn’t want to see her today. I felt all awkward about yesterday, and confused. I breathed out a deep sigh, and my mom decided that was the signal to start questioning me.
“Zac, what’s wrong? You seem depressed.  You’re worrying me. You come in here, sit down, and say nothing for a full ten minutes.”
I shook my head, I didn’t know how to put this, didn’t know what I wanted either, so what was it I should tell?
“I want another babysitter for Abigail...”
There, that was the best solution. But if it was, then why did it feel so damn difficult to say? To decide? Why did I feel an uncomfortable twitch right in the pit of my stomach if I just thought of not having Nikki around any longer?
“What?” My mom gasped, her eyes wide. Like she’d just been informed of some big world disaster. “Why? What has she done? She seemed so perfect for this job!”
“It’s not her, mom,” I started, looking down at my hands on the table, which were now nervously folding and turning, “it’s me. I... We... I... I slept with her...” I slowly looked up, as mom didn’t respond, and found her looking at me in even more shock. I flushed. That obviously brought a smile to her face. “You like her?”
“What?” It was my turn to be shocked now, and I shook my head rapidly. “Mom, no! Of course I don’t. It was a mistake. I’m a married man. I have a daughter, remember?”
My mom sighed, looking at me with a hint of pity in her eyes. “Zac, please...” she reached out for my hands, and I let her take them without any response. “I know it’s hard to accept, but... you were married, sweetie... Mandy is... gone now...” She gave me a weak smile, but I could see she didn’t mean it, the pity was still mainly dominating her countenance.
I pulled my hands away, now offended. How could she talk about my wife like this? About the mother of my daughter? Of her granddaughter! “I made Mandy a promise, mom! And I’m not gonna break that.”
“Mandy would’ve wanted you to be happy!” My mom said loudly, as if she was trying to make a statement.
I shook my head stubbornly. I couldn’t believe my ears. How could she have turned like this? “Yea, with her!”
“Zaccy,” mom’s voice sounded softer again, soothing, like I was a little kid, “would you listen to yourself? Look, Mandy died, two and a half years ago, and it’s hard, but you‘ve got to move on. You have every right to build up a new life and be happy again. You’re twenty-eight, do you really wanna spend the rest of your life alone?”
I looked at her confused. I had never looked at it that way. I never really looked at the future, I more of lived in the past, actually. “No...” I murmured, “but Mandy...”
“Mandy’s probably looking down at us right now, rolling her eyes at what kind of idiot she married.” My mom filled in my sentence, with whole other words than I had intended to. She smiled at me, amused, as I let out a chuckle. I could totally imagine that. My Mandy, rolling her eyes, her hands on her hips playfully severe, as I once again let the microwave lasagne burn or went to sit on the remote, after forgetting to put it back in the drawer after turning off the TV the night before.
“So, do you like her?” My mom interrupted the silence that followed, and I smiled lightly at her, as in the background, I heard my dad murmuring some baby-talk to my little Abigail.
“I...” I smiled bigger, my mom talking about Mandy like this, had strangely helped me seeing my life from another point of view, “I think I do, actually.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Go to her, now!” I startled, as I heard a male voice right behind me, and I turned around, to find my dad smirking at me. So he’d heard more of the conversation than I’d thought he had. How long had he been in the room next to us?
I smiled, and hoisted myself from my chair. “You know what? Maybe I should.”

_ _
I rung Nikki’s doorbell several times, impatiently, in my one hand holding a bouquet of white and light pink roses, which I knew were Nikki’s favourites, since she’d occasionally bring some to my place to decorate it a little. With my other hand, I was holding Abigail’s, who was sucking her thumb in confusion.
Of course, she had no clue where we were or what we were doing here.
I had never been at Nikki’s place before either, but I had her address from her resume, which my mom had given me shortly after Nikki had officially gotten hired.
Soon, the door opened, and I stared right in the face of a surprised-looking Nikki. She didn’t seem able to say or do anything at that moment, so I smiled, and held out to the flowers to her. “Um, I wanted to... apologize... for the way I acted yesterday. I mean, afterwards.”
And there it was again, Nikki’s sweet smile. I realized it had me melting from the first time I saw it, only denying it seemed easier back then.
She opened her door wider, “would you like to come in?” and then looked down at Abigail, who had stopped thumb sucking. “And for you, missy, I got some ice-cream.”
“Iwce-cweam!” Abigail squeaked, and hurriedly let go of my hand, waving her arms enthusiastically as she rushed in. Nikki laughed, and so did I, as I handed her the bouquet, then entered the small house myself, though a little less riotous than my daughter.
 Nikki brought the flowers to her nose, and sniffed sweetly, before beaming up to me. “Thank you so much, these are beautiful.”
I shrugged my shoulders and smiled back, though guilt overwhelmed me again. “I realized I needed to bring something impressive if I wanted to apologize for being the jerk I was yesterday.”
Nikki closed the door behind me, her smile fading as well. “Zac, you weren’t a jerk. You...”
I interrupted her, bringing my fingers to her curvaceous lips to shut her up. “Yes, I was. But I have an excuse. I was scared... Scared because I felt something I haven’t felt in years. You see, when I married Mandy four years ago, I knew she was the woman of my life, my only one. After she died, I tried forgetting about the feeling, because it only hurt me. I would never feel that way again. But then you came,” I smiled, “and you made that certain happiness come back, you... you made me feel... in love again... And that scared me, because I thought I was only supposed to feel like that about Mandy. And now I know I don’t, because if I was, I wouldn’t be feeling the way I did about you now. And I know I’m rambling right now and you probably aren’t following what I’m talking about anymore but, I guess what I’m trying to say is... I love you, Nikki.”
I smiled bigger, as I finally got those words out, it felt like a relief to say it, and to Nikki obviously a relief to hear it, as her smile returned too, genuinely.
“I love you too, Zac... And I love Abigail too. I...”
I interrupted Nikki for a second time, this time by quickly placing my lips on her. After just a second, I pulled back, my face not even an inch away from hers. I grinned happily, and Nikki swung her free arm around my neck, smiling, kissing me lingering on the lips.
“Daddiey, Nwikki! Iwce-cweam!” It resounded from the kitchen, and I pulled back, bursting out laughing, at the same time as Nikki did.
“Well, this if how your life will be looking from now on, miss,” I chuckled, pulling her closer to me happily. “Just the life I’ve always wanted... Sir.” She smiled, and I pressed my lips to hers, blissfully.


If you liked it, please leave a comment? =) I put a lot of effort into this story... <3

location: Somewhere over the rainbow

mood: sleepy

music: Taylor Swift -Tim McGraw

Hurriedly Tracy rushed past the parking lot, her eyes wandering over the old black Chevy truck. It was nothing special between the other cars, but it caught her eye almost immediately, like it did every time. It was his car. Link Larkin’s car. The star of the Corny Collins show, the most popular guy in school, the lead character in her last night’s dream. Again...
A dream so good she’d overslept, and missed the bus... Also again.
She’d woken up under the severe voice of her Mother, Edna Turnblad, making her face reality. Bittersweet reality. In her dream –her wonderful dream –Link had asked her to dance, they’d kissed, watched the stars, he’d sung to her. Reality was different.
In reality, Link Larkin was a bastard, the number one asshole, he and his friends always found a way to make fun of her. And yet, he was the most attractive, fascinating bastard she’d ever laid eyes on.
She shook her head, hurrying up the stairs, why was she thinking about him again? Why had she dreamt about him once more? Why, when she knew he’d always stay the same, annoying jerk, and today wouldn’t be any different.
She sighed, rushing into the big building, more stairs. She started going on up. Biology first period. With Larkin in her classroom. She didn’t know what to think of that. It was another opportunity for him and his retarded friends to make fun of her, and another chance for her to sit still and ignore it, staring at the back of his black, slicked-back haired head, dreamily.
She pushed the door open, out of breath –they should really forbid staircases in a high school –just as the bell rang. “I...’m sorr...y... Mr. F... ields,” Tracy panted apologetically at the old man sitting behind his desk, looking at her severely. He sighed, pushing his round glasses further down his nose. “Have a seat, Ms. Turnblad. “
“Thank y...ou, sir...” Tracy breathed relieved, speed walking over to her usual seat on the second row, Penny, sitting next to her, turned to give her a little smile. Tracy smiled back, the corners of her mouth slowly falling when she looked over her best friend’s shoulder. There he was, looking perfect as ever, with his dark, perfectly styled curl and his intriguing blue eyes. And his smile, those cheekbones, so defined, as he heartily laughed at Brad’s –one of his friends –joke.
Tracy looked down. Would they be talking about her again?
“Okay class,” Mr. Fields’ loud, croaky voice filled the room, and she turned back to the front, looking as he got up out of his chair and walked over to the blackboard, writing down one word and a page.
Reproduction: page 62.
He turned back to the class, “today, we’re going to be talking about reproduction, take your books on page sixty-two, please.”
Tracy groaned inwardly. She remembered doing a little chapter on reproduction last year, but much better even, she remembered the lame jokes made about it. This was going to be just another awkward lesson like that.
Mr. Fields sat back down behind his desk, starting his subject in his well-known, monotone voice.
“Before we can speak about reproduction, there has to be intercourse first, and for intercourse to happen, there are some other requirements, who can give me one of them?”
“She’s gotta have a damn fine pair of tits, dude!” someone roared from the left back  corner of the classroom. They all turned around. Brad. He was laughing loudly about his own joke, as were pretty much the entire male half of the classroom.
“Ugh, Brad...” Amber’s high, annoying voice was heard between the laughter, whilst she rolled her big blue eyes disgusted. She and Brad were dating, but it wasn’t like she really loved him, everyone knew she was using him to get to Link. Everyone except for Brad himself.
Mr. Fields sighed, and just waited until the laughter died down. He had obviously seen this situation so many times before. Of course, judging by his wrinkles, he’d been teaching at this school for a few centuries now.
He looked up hopeful when a little girl with pig tails and big glasses held up her hand.
“Yes, Ms. Rose?”
“The male needs to have an erection, sir.”
Fender, another one of Link’s friends and Corny Collins’ dancers, chuckled, but in a way that it couldn’t be missed by any of the people in class. “Well, that must be in the book ‘cause there’s no way she’d ever find that out in real life.”
Laughter erupted from the guys, and some of the girls now, again.
Tracy shook her head, and caught Penny looking sorry too. They hated it when people got bullied. And Tracy knew all too well what she was talking about, she was all too often the victim of those guys’ lame humour too.
This time Mr. Fields did decide to step in, “alright class, be quiet. Can someone give me an explanation as to what an erection is?”
No reply, except for more laughter. He cleared his throat and frowned. “Mr. Larkin, perhaps?”
Silence fell. Mr. Fields knew who was the guys’ leader, just like everyone did.
“Uh,” Link looked up, a little smirk on his face, “an erection is when a male sees something he likes, things decide to point upwards.” New laughter, from the majority of the class now, but still, Brad couldn’t help butting in again. “Like a human sundial!”
Tracy turned to look at them, just like everyone else in class. God, guys were pigs!
She caught Link’s eye. Wow... She thought as she found herself staring into his ocean blue peepers for a few seconds, before he shot a quick, saying-it-all, typical wink.
Tracy gasped and turned back to the front, a tingly feeling right in the pit of her stomach. And yet she knew she couldn’t be feeling like this. He was once again making fun of her, and she simply let him. Simply let herself crush on him even more.
“Well, that’s... correct,” Mr. Fields sighed, “if you turn the page you will find a more detailed explanation however... Another question, who can tell me what fertilisation is?”
I’m so stupid, I have to stop letting him walk over me like that. I might not be popular or sexy but I do deserve some respect. I need to get him out of my h...
“Ms. Turnblad?” Mr. Field’s voice startled poor Tracy from her daydreams. She looked up confused, her cheeks flushing. “Huh? I’m sorry, sir.”
The teacher sighed. “Can you tell me what reproduction is?”
Tracy opened up her mouth to speak, as she heard the guys’ voices from the back of the class.
“Like she knows that...”
“She’d probably break a nunnery law by explaining that.”
The guys laughed, and in between there, she could also heard Amber’s muffled giggling.
It made her mad. Why did they constantly have to make fun of her?
“Well, fertilisation is how a dumb, retarded male traps a girl that’s way out of his league into staying with him.” It came out squeaky, but Tracy was glad that she’d said it, even though a sudden silence suddenly reigned the classroom. Tracy Turnblad never said something like that.
But it had been her revenge on Link’s dirty wink from earlier, if he thought he could mislead her, she could be mean too. She didn’t like it, but she could.
There was only one low, deep, attractive voice breaking the silence. “And what does this dumb, retarded male have to do to get with the girl that’s way out of his league, in the first place?”
Tracy gasped, turning around, just like everyone else, and there was Link Larking, plainly staring at her. At her and her only. He wore this smirk on his face, so unbelievably annoying but irresistible at the same time. It made Tracy so mad, yet so crazy about him.
“Fuck you, Larkin.”
Link grinned, sliding back in his seat, his eyes never leaving Tracy. “With pleasure, Turnblad.”
Tracy’s eyes widened, in pure shock. What did he just say? Okay, it wasn’t about what he said, because it was exactly the kind of pubertal sex-talk you could expect from someone like Link Larkin. No, it was who he said it to, that astonished both Tracy as the rest of the class, and made the girl assume it was yet another of his stupid jokes. It wasn’t funny, not the littlest bit.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re a bastard, a bastard with a ridiculously big ego.” “And you’re a know-it-all with a ridiculously big ass,” Link shot back, that annoying grin still gracing his perfect features.
Tracy gasped, along with a few other people in class, whilst Link’s friends burst into another fit of laughter.
“That’s it! Enough!” Mr. Fields came from behind his desk, strengthening up to his full length. “The next one who says one more word that has nothing to do with our subject, will be removed to detent...” RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
The bell interrupted the old man from threatening, followed by the sound of chairs scraping over the tiled floor, the door opening, people rushing out.
“Trace, are you okay?” Penny put her hand on Tracy’s shoulder and looked at her worriedly.
Tracy didn’t look back, she was looking at Link, who disappeared through the doorway. She was furious. “He’s taking that bad!” she said, her voice sharp. “Here, hold this!”
She pushed her bag into Penny’s hands, and stomped out of the classroom, finding Link saying goodbye to his friends, as he walked into another hallway, she followed him a few steps, until his friends were out of sight. This was something that needed to be arranged between the two of them. See if he’d still be that tough without his buddies.
“Hey, you asshole, wait up!” Tracy shouted, her hands on her hips, her face on thunder.
Immediately, as if he felt addressed, Link turned around, to find Tracy. He stood completely still for a few seconds, so did she, as they stared at each other. Tracy furious, Link with that stupid smirk of his.
Tracy was just about to continue her little speech, as Link shot into action again, taking a few big steps over to her, his hands on both her cheeks before she could speak a word, his lips finding hers in under another second.
Tracy pulled back, her anger clearing space for shock, she stared at the perfection in front of her with opened mouth. “I thought you I am a know-it-all with a ridiculously big ass?” her voice still sounded sharp, and she didn’t regret it the littlest bit. He shouldn’t have said that.
Link grinned, his hands travelling from her cheeks down to her back, “and you have no idea how that turns me on,” he murmured, his hands giving Tracy’s but a firm squeeze.
She jumped up, surprised, but was immediately hushed by Link’s lips, put on hers again. Tracy closed her eyes, nothing had ever felt this good.
She parted her lips, granting Link’s tongue entrance, as he pushed her further down the hall, until her back eventually collided with a door. She pulled back, Link’s lips moved over to her shoulder, sucking her delicate skin there, as his hand reached for the door handle. He pushed Tracy further along,
he door creaking with a for Tracy familiar sound. She realized where they were, the girls’ bathrooms. She opened her eyes, pushing Link off of her lightly as she looked around timidly. Luckily no one was here. “Link, no. The bathrooms?”
“Necessity knows no law, doll,” he breathed, eagerly, about to put his lips on Tracy’s pair again.
Doll... Had he ever called her that before? Doll. A four letter word, leaving his perfect, already swollen lips, and she’d never felt more wanted. Without any further hesitation she closed up the space between their lips, leading her and Link into the last stall.
She felt him grin into the kiss, as she heard the lock behind them click.
She grinned back, her small hands finding the buttons of his shirt quickly. She unbuttoned it shaking-handily, her breathing –like Link’s –heavy.
Link did the same to Tracy’s blouse, pushing her up to the wall, very aware of his erection straining in his pants.
As his upper body was bared, Tracy’s hands moved over to his belt buckle, which she rapidly unbuckled, unbuttoning and unzipping his skinny black pants right after. Her hands touched Link’s private spot through the material of his underwear in the process, and he swore, pulling her closer.
“Shit, Trace.”
Tracy couldn’t sustain a giggle, suddenly interrupted as the creaking of the old bathroom door announced someone entering.
Link’s eyes widened and he put his finger to her lips. “Shh.”
Tracy kept quiet anxiously, as the sound of high tapping against the floor made their way in.
“I can’t wait until my retirement, it’s been enough,” the old voice of Miss Wimsey sounded. Their geography teacher.
Tracy swallowed, Link chuckled. “Shh!” Tracy ordered him this time, her eyes wide.
“Tell me about it,” another voice sounded, neither of them recognized it.
“The pupils seem to get worse every year, and then those annoying Corny Collins kids who think they have the school at their feet.”
“The youth nowadays.”
Gosh, couldn’t they have their little chat somewhere else?
“Oh, well, two more years and I’m done to sit in my garden with some tea and my kittens.”
“Don’t make me jealous.”
To Tracy and Link’s relief, the footsteps started again, and few seconds later, they heard the main door close.
They looked at each other, flushed, breathing out deeply.
“Ohmygod...” Tracy brought out, laughing. Link laughed too, before he placed his lips on Tracy’s soft pair again, his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth, as his pants fell down to his ankles.

_ _

“You did WHAT?! Tracy Edna Turnblad!” Penny squealed through the phone. Tracy giggled. She was sitting on her bed, on the phone with her best friend, she’s just told her what had happened. She hadn’t dared to tell her at school or on the bus home today. What if someone overheard?
“With Link?”
Tracy smiled big, thinking back to this morning. “Yes, with Link.”
“Well, you guys used protection, right?” Penny asked, like the protective older sister she was for Tracy.
“Of course, we’re not stupid!” Tracy replied.
Penny couldn’t hold back a laugh. “May I remind you you called him retarded just minutes before?”
Tracy thought back to first period, biology. She had indeed called him dumb and retarded. “Yea, but...” she paused, a horrible thought taking over her mind, clearing out her rosy daydreams.
Penny immediately picked up the sudden change in her best friend’s behaviour. “Trace?”
Silence... “What’s wrong? But what?”
Tracy sighed, looking down, picking on the duvet on her bed. “Pen, what if this was just a one-time thing? What if tomorrow he’s the same jerk all over again?”
What if he used her?
“Tracy, he...” Penny started, not finding the right words to complete her sentence. What would Link be thinking? He wouldn’t recoil from doing some random girl just to fulfil his manly needs, would he? Or was that just the outside? Rough shell but innocent pit? Maybe he wasn’t the jerk he constantly acted out to be... But everything pointed in the direction that he was.
Penny sighed. “I’m sorry, Tracy.”
“I...” Tracy started, stopped from finished her sentence by a little tap against her window. She looked up, at the closed window.
“Trace, you still there?”
Another tap.
“Tracy?” Penny pleaded, louder this time. “TRACY!”
Tracy startled. “Yea, yea, still here. Hold on.”
She stepped out of her bed, stepping over to the window, whilst there was another tap against it.
Slowly she opened the curtain to reveal the darkening air. She peered down, and gasped, as she found Link, looking up at her window, another pebble in his right hand. He dropped it with a smile as he found Tracy looking down at him.
She opened the window, her mouth wide-open, but she didn’t speak a word.
“Would the lady care to join me for a ride?” He made a playful bow, his eyes still looking up at her.
Tracy beamed, bringing her index finger to her lips. “Shh...!”
Link nodded, understanding, and straightened up again, waiting for an answer.
Tracy nodded with a big smile, and then closed the window again, rushing over to her phone.
“Penny, I gotta go. He’s here.”
“Who is?”
“Link!” Tracy hissed, in a duh-tone.
“Oh...” Penny let out a little laugh, “well, have fun.”
“Thank you, see you tomorrow at school. Bye.”
Tracy hung up, quickly changing her comfortable fluffy socks for flats before turning off the light and leaving her room. Her parents were sleeping, she could sneak out without a problem.

_ _

They had only driven for a few minutes, and then Link had parked the car, nearby a forest, on an empty spot. He’d helped her, and in the loading platform of his Chevy pick-up truck.
Then he’d gotten back to the front of his car.
“Link, what are you doing?” Tracy laughed, sitting up impatiently.
Link hopped back out of his front seat and closed the door, walking back over to where Tracy was, holding something behind his back. “I got you a little surprise, doll.”
He grinned and suddenly let a beautiful bouquet of red roses appear in front of her face.
Tracy gasped. “Link, why...?”
Link hopped in the loading platform with her, “well, because, I wanted to say sorry and...” he hesitated, sitting down next to her. “Wait, I wrote it down.”
Tracy giggled, watching as Link hurriedly checked his pockets. “Shit...” he murmured.
Tracy smiled amused, as his face drew off white.
“Shit... no.” He repeated, checking all pockets again. He looked up at Tracy, swallowing, “I think I lost the note.”
Tracy took a hold of his hand, it felt a little sweaty. “Can’t you just tell me without the note?”
Link shook his head, blushing. “I’m really bad with words.”
Tracy chuckled, “you don’t seem bad with words at school.”
He looked up at her, with a little smile. “Well, I’m not bad with bad words... I guess.”
Tracy laughed and slid a little bit closer to Link. “Well, take your time to think about what you were going to say.” She rested her head on his chest carefully, scared he’s suddenly change his mind if she became too close, he didn’t. Instead, he went to lay down, and took Tracy with him, making sure her head stayed on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
Tracy looked up at the sky, smiling, taking a hold of Link’s hands again, frolicking with his fingers.
“I’m really sorry, Trace, for everything I ever said to you... I didn’t mean it.”
Tracy closed her eyes, hearing the beat of Link’s heart, fast. “Then why did you say it?”
“I guess... Well, I’m not good with good words, not in front of you... so... I guess, acting tough... was my way to interact with you...” he shrugged his shoulders, caressing Tracy’s hands, to calm himself down.
“Oh, so if you’re being mean to me, that actually means you love me?” Tracy teased, opening her eyes again to look up into Link’s blue pair. He smiled a little too. “Kind of, I guess.”
“You must love me very much then,” she laughed, cuddling into him.
“Very much,” Link endorsed, “can you forgive me?”
Tracy smiled cheekily, “on one condition...”
“And that is...?”
“Next time you wanna tell me how much you love me, shut up and just kiss me.”
Link grinned, leaning in closer. “Deal.” He put his lips on Tracy’s pair, both of them smiling.

If you like it, please comment! =) <3

Story: Hairspray
Main characters: Zac & Nikki/ Zikki
Type of story: Oneshot
Words: 9,836 (split in 3 parts)
Rated: PG for language. 
Plot: Zac and Nikki are in love, but Zac cannot let go of Disney and his publicity girlfriend. When something unexpected take place, will he finally exclusively choose for Nikki after all? 

Nikki sat down on her soft bed heavily. She couldn’t believe this! She could simply not believe this! How many times had she already warned herself? Told herself to stay away from that head of dirty blond hair, those enchanting azure blue eyes, those rock hard abs and that toned, muscled chest? How many times had she resolved –more, promised herself –she was not gonna give in and behave? How many days had she been able to hit herself over the head after opening up a magazine and seeing him, acting all loved up with his real girlfriend? And how many lonely nights had she cried over that?

And still, every single time, the perfection that was him, had gotten her knees weak, made the butterflies in her stomach revive, her palms sweat, and her heart beat at least three times as fast. It were just a few of the many things he did to her. But it wasn’t about what he did to her. It was the actual fact he did her, that had brought her into this mess.

She had tried to resist him vainly for so many times. Not that she longed to reject him, to push him away or to simply not make love to him, but she just couldn’t keep on doing this. It was a matter of self-protection. See, sure she liked her Hairspray co-star, Zac Efron, as more than just best friends, but their relationship just hadn’t more potential than a friendship. They were restricted by Zac’s steady girlfriend since three years, who’s name Nikki couldn’t even use in thoughts.
Yes, Zac had told her several times he was only dating her for publicity, because his Disney-contract obligated him to, and in the beginning, Nikki had been so naïve to think it was all gonna work out. That Zac would finish off his contract, deal with his girlfriend and he and Nikki would live happily ever after. But as time passed by, she had stopped believing in those kind of fairytale scenarios. He wasn’t going to break up with her, he’d never even attempted to. And as far as Disney was concerned, why would he still care? He had finished up HSM3, and was therefore no longer committed to their stupid contract. That was at least Nikki’s opinion on it. The truth was Zac had never even mentioned when his contract would come to an end. Only now the girl realized he had always used the vague term someday when he’d talked about that moment, about their bed-of-roses future.

He was landing the bigger roles and getting in the bigger cash now, but where love was concerned, nothing changed. He was never just going to dump his publicity girlfriend for her. She would always be just the best friend, with the little side task of fulfilling Zac’s manly needs once in a while, that was the role she played in his life.
Just like so many times over the past year, Nikki inwardly blamed herself at that thought. She should’ve never let it get this far, should’ve never let him get this far. She had been weak and stupid, not just for one time, not for a few, but for continuously giving in to him. And now, things had gotten out of hand, and it was all her fault.
She should’ve just resisted him. In total disbelief she looked down to her right hand again. It felt numb, except for her thumb and middle finger, which felt like they could just burn off any second now, by holding a white stick, marked with a pink cross. “Shit…”

At least a minute of silence followed, in which Nikki couldn’t even think. Only the murmur of that one word, just escaped her lips, was still echoing through her head.
The result hadn’t disappeared, the pink cross was still as clear on the little display as it had been minutes ago. Her period was just as late as it had been ever since three weeks ago, and it wasn’t because of stress, as she had tried to fool herself. Yes, it was his fault, but not because of the stress and frustration he caused her. This was a problem on a whole new level. One Nikki had preferred to stay far away from.

She was pregnant, knocked up by her best friend, Zac Efron. The exact one guy in the worst position possible to even consider fatherhood, especially if that concerned Nikki being the mom.
He was America’s teenage heartthrob, his career was growing rapidly, and most importantly, he was the male half of Hollywood’s most famous couple since Brangelina.
This was messed up…

The only relief Nikki currently felt, was about the fact nor her parents, neither her brother were home. She was all alone. Good, because she had no idea what she’d done if one of them had suddenly stormed into her room and saw the test. She needed silence to think about this first. Silence and a lot of chocolate ice-cream.

She had no clue about what to do, she was anything but ready for a baby. She had only just turned twenty, was working on her long desired acting career, and would be standing alone in all of this.
But then again, could she really kill a developing person, just because it wasn’t the right time and its dad wasn’t in the right circumstances to raise it?
She should’ve just kept him away from her. Lately she’d been thinking a lot about it, and she’d come to the conclusion Zac did not own the littlest bit of respect for her, at all.
She’d just have to tell him it had to stop now. Be strong and determined, and tell him she’d had enough of it. It was too late now to turn back time, the bad had come about, but she knew exactly what she had to do to limit the damage.

It wasn’t gonna be hard to get a hold of him. He had an interview in New York in two days, as Nikki had learned from various sites and magazines, and from past experiences she knew, all she’d had to do was wait for his phone call, tonight or tomorrow, in which he’d tell her he was stopping by.
Nikki wasn’t looking forward to it though, like she had other times, when she still believed in their future-relationship. These days, he brought nothing but hurt and broken promises, and she knew, that whatever she was gonna say in two days, she could not ever tell Zac about the baby.

_ _

The doorbell rang and Nikki speed walked out of the living room. He was here. She smirked at his obviousness. Of course he had called yesterday morning, of course he was stopping by today. But this time, he was not gonna get what he was hoping for.

Faking a little smile, she opened the door, to find herself face-to-face with Zac, who was smiling down at her sincerely, a large bouquet of all kinds of flowers, held by his left arm.
Nikki’s eyes wandered over to his muscled biceps for a second, and also her smile turned into a real one. Damn, he was hot!

Hold on, she couldn’t let that body get to her again. It had gotten her into enough trouble already. And why did he even bring flowers? He never brought her flowers.
She looked up to his face again, crossing his deep blue eyes. Oh god… She could feel herself cave in for him again already.

“Hey,” a deep, familiar voice and a shy peck on her cheek brought Nikki back to the world. She blinked and quickly stepped aside to let Zac in, smiling at him, genuinely, the spot where he had kissed her quickly, still tingling.

“Uhh… These are for you.” Zac said, handing her the bouquet, his smile growing just that little bigger as Nikki accepted the flowers.

“Thank you.” Nikki spoke flattered, the first shade of red taking over her cheeks. He was doing it again, better said, she was doing it again. He didn’t do anything, it was her fault, she was falling for him all over again. He remained completely platonic, but just being his ever charming self was enough, was what made him tick.

“Nikki, who’s at the door?” Her mom’s voice startled her, causing Zac to stare further down the hall curiously. “Your parents are home?” He asked in confusion, not sure whether to feel excited to see them again, or disappointed Nikki wasn’t home alone.

“It’s Zac, mom.” Nikki called back, nodding to answer Zac’s question in the process. She was relieved she’d made sure her parents were home when he stopped by. It’d definitely help her resisting him if she knew her parents and younger brother could hear them or even walk in on them.

Not that that had stopped them from a heated lovemaking, not at all. But they sure had to be more careful, silent, and that was exactly something that especially Zac had difficulty with.  

However, if he had been looking confused, he recovered quickly, and closed the door behind him, walking through the hall, as Nikki followed him.
He didn’t feel awkward or comfortable entering the kitchen without an invitation. He felt at home here, and Nikki’s parents felt like a second family to him.
“Hi Karen, Karl…” he spoke as Nikki’s mom got up from her chair to hug him lovingly, as her dad looked up from his newspaper to give the young man a welcoming smile.

“Zac!” Karen smiled, still holding him in a tight grip, “It’s so nice seeing you again!”
Zac chuckled, patting her back a little as he tried to wriggle free. Karen was such a nice,  genuine person, which was –besides Nikki –one of the major reasons he had felt immediately welcome here. “Nice to see you too.”

Nikki, who had walked in behind him, opened up the cupboard in the search for a vase, with her back turned to the entire scenario. Just wait until you hear he got me pregnant. You rather be seeing his back than his face then… She thought, unable to help herself.
Yes, he was her best friend, yes, she loved him more than anything, and yes, if her mom hadn’t called to ask her who was at the door, she’d be probably doing him again right now.
But those reasons were exactly what made her so mad at him. She was powerless when he turned on the charm, completely and totally obedient.

And now he had even impregnated her! Okay, he could help it just as much as she could, if not even less –Zac had always been the one providing protection –but still she considered him the one to blame. If he hadn’t cheated on his girlfriend or just dumped her to start a relationship with Nikki in the first place, things like these wouldn’t have happened or at least been less of a problem.

“Aww, Nikki, let me see those flowers…” Karen cooed as she let go of Zac and legged over to the counter, where her daughter had put down the bouquet as she was filling up the vase with tepid water. “Ooh, those are pretty…” She grinned, as she casted a meaningful glare at the boy who had brought them, a light blush creeping over his cheeks.  

Behind the New York Times, also the face of Carl was formed into a saying-it-all expression. It was not because he and his wife acted unwitting, they were blind to what was going on between their daughter and her hairspray co-star.
They could see the looks he gave her, the way he made her laugh with just one word or sometimes even by just being quiet, the way her face lit up whenever he was around, and the way she changed from sunshine to thunder just the minute after he left, leaving her in that mood for at least two days before she went back to her normal, cheery –yet not as sparkling as whenever Zac was around –self.

“Here, put this in it honey.” Karen said, stopping Nikki from putting her bouquet into the vase, to throw in a small sugar cube before she let her daughter continue. “That way the flowers last longer.” It was just one of the small household tricks that made Karen to the typical mother figure she was, but just those simple details was what Zac loved about this family so much. Just like he loved that the atmosphere was light and relaxed, not stressed or artificial, and like he loved that the kitchen and the bigger part of the living room always smelled like fresh baked cookies. 

“So you’re going to Amanda’s party too?” He asked, suddenly reminded of the text he had gotten right after turning his phone on as he got off the plane. He was definitely planning on going, most of the cast was going to be there, and he hadn’t seen them in a long, long time. It would be fun anyhow, but it wouldn’t be complete without Nikki.

“Of course I’m going!” Nikki replied, excited at only the thought. She had gotten Amanda’s text about an hour ago. It felt like just yesterday since the last Hairspray premier, but at the same time an eternity since she had last seen everyone. She hoped they were all able to make it though, because –as most of Amanda’s promptings –the cast get-together had been planned on short notice, as it was tomorrow evening. “You?”

“Absolutely,” Zac smiled at Nikki’s enthusiasm. It was one of the many things that appealed to him, and had from the first time he had ever laid eyes on her, “I just got to call my assistant so she can get me a hotel room…”

“Nonsense hon,” Karen cut him off abruptly, almost seeming mad at the mention of the word ‘hotel’, “You can stay here, with us. You can use the guest room.” 

Nikki’s smile faded at her mom’s suggestion. Please say no… It went through her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Zac, but the two of them had a serious conversation ahead today. At first she’d have to stop Zac –and herself for that matter –from getting her into bed again. Second, she’d finally tell him the truth, that she’d had enough of their sly adventures, and that if he wasn’t going to fully choose for her, they had to stop.
Third of all, was the other problem, which she had been trying to push aside ever since she knew. She was pregnant, by Zac, and how small that embryo may have been now, it wasn’t going to disappear by itself. She’d have to think that problem through as well, as soon as she had dealt with the ones its dad caused her, that was.
Then she’d want him out of her house as soon as possible, before the situation of her confessing her real feelings for him turned too awkward, before she let anything about the baby slip. He didn’t have to know. It’d make everything just more complicated, and that was the last thing she needed right now.

“Oh, that would be great.” Zac smiled, happy about Ms. Blonksy’s idea, grateful that she suggested it, “I mean, if everyone’s alright with that?”

Nikki looked up at Zac, her mouth corners curling up at the sight of his big, pure smile. “Yea, sure…” Oh, she could’ve hit herself over the head! Was she really that weak to give in again? He’d needed just one smile… One smile so casually perfect that it almost frustrated her, and she’d thrown overboard all her plans for him.

_ _

Nikki closed her bedroom door and turned around, to instantly find herself in two strong, muscled arms, Zac’s arms. “I missed you, Nik…” He whispered, planting his lips on her voluminous, soft pair within seconds after he spoke.

Don’t give in. Pull away. Nikki tried telling herself, stubbornly fighting the blissfulness of his kisses, and the effect they had on her. Oh yes, just a simple kiss sent tingles through her entire body, and had an effect on her heartbeat, that not even a marathon had.
Unable to resist what his kisses did to her, what he did to her, she bit his lower lip lightly, longingly. She had missed him too.

Slowly she released his lip again, and it didn’t take Zac more to slowly let his tongue wander over her lips, seeking for entrance, as his eager hands roamed her curvaceous butt.

It was exactly that predictable move that activated Nikki’s blank mind again. Made her realize she was doing exactly the one thing she had promised herself not to do. Abruptly she broke apart from the kiss and stared up at Zac, who slowly opened up his eyes again, still in the fuddle of the kiss. “I can’t do it, Zac…” Nikki murmured, “not anymore.”

Zac, familiar with her doubts –he hadn’t forgotten previous times when they were about to have steaming hot sex with Nikki’s parents downstairs –paid no more attention to them, also partially blinded by the high amount of testosterone rushing through his body. Longingly he placed a sucking kiss in the crook of her neck, taking the movement down, as his hand slipped off the strap of her top.

“Zac, no…” Nikki protested, trying her ultimate best to not moan the words as the sucking movement of his lips stimulated her lust rapidly. “Zac… Stop it, please.”

Slowly and reluctantly he obeyed, staring down at Nikki in confusion, his mouth opened at his heavy intake of breath. “W…hy…?”

Nikki looked up at him steadily, weakened by the look in his eyes. Something that was midway between confusion and begging, and she almost felt sorry for him. But then she was reminded of her own sorrow again. Sorrow caused by him and what was, according to the world, his girlfriend. She remembered she couldn’t take the torture of seeing them together anymore, didn’t want to cherish false hopes any longer. She remembered exactly how she’d put up with all of it for months, and she was gonna tell him exactly how she felt, finally. “I can’t do it anymore, Zac. We share nothing, we’re friends, not a couple. I owe you nothing. I’m not obligated to have sex with you every time you stop by.”

Till Nikki’s dislike, Zac’s reaction was a short chuckle, before he placed his lips on her soft shoulder. “Nikki, come on…” He murmured in between short kisses, like she was rambling, like it didn’t matter to him at all, like her thoughts and feelings didn’t matter to him at all.

“ZAC!” Nikki raised her voice, feeling the moisture in her eyes forming at the realization she had indeed been right, and he did not own any form of respect for her at all. The boy pulled away quickly at her tone of voice, and looked at her with a sheepish look on his face. Nikki took a deep breath as she looked at him, trying to remain in control of her tears and at the same time anger he caused with her. “It’s always the same scenario! Every time you stop by you fuck me all over! And you have no idea how cheap I feel for letting you! Don’t I mean anything to you? Anything at all?”

The heat that had been boiling up inside of Zac, cooled down right away at her words, at the realization she couldn’t take it any longer, the realization she was right, all the way.
Okay, he knew that before, but he’d never felt like he should do anything about it, his life was easy this way. Well, easy was expressed lightly, but it at least made the mess he had got himself into a little more bearable.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Nikki, on the contrary, he loved her, adored her, worshipped her. But she wasn’t the only thing that mattered. He would’ve gotten together with her long ago if she was. But the truth was that he had also his career, and being a young seventeen year old boy, he had been tricked into signing contracts with Disney, in which one of the clauses was to date his High School Musical co-star, Vanessa Hudgens.
At the time, he hadn’t protested, because it was puppy love that had brought them together, not the contract. But as time passed, the love had blown over –at least on his side –and as he had wanted to move on, he had finally realized the downside of his contract, the heavy price he had to pay for the launch of his successful career.
He was stuck on his girlfriend like a brick in a wall, and he had no idea when he could finally stop pretending. He had carefully tried sounding out some information about the contract a few times, vainly, and he didn’t dare pursuing the matter any further.
On top of that, Vanessa wasn’t intending on letting go of him anytime soon, so he couldn’t make a silent pact with her either. He was very well aware that if he’d even mention a break-up, he’d get a drama that’d made the world press shake on its foundations.

The only light points in his life, were the moments his career led him to New York, to his best friend, Nikki Blonsky. And although he didn’t plan on sleeping with her, he couldn’t resist the longing, the call of her curves, every time he saw her.
“You mean a lot to me, really.” He said, looking at her intently as he cupped her cheek gently, his eyes darker with worry, “I told you that. You know what I think about you, it’s just my contract, that…”

“No, I don’t know what you think about me anymore, Zac!” Nikki cut him off, pushing his hand away, a tear spilling from her eye in sheer frustration, “You use me! Abuse me! All you care about is her, Disney, your stupid contract!”

“Nik, that’s not true! And you know that.” Zac’s voice sounded desperate saying that, but he knew there was some sort of truth in her words. He cared about Disney and the contract, and even Vanessa, but that was indirectly. He found his career important, and because his career concerned the contract, he had to follow it up. She was right, Disney controlled his life, but there was nothing he could do about it.

“Urgh!” Nikki let out a frustrated moan as she stepped back and turned away from those deep blue eyes, that would make her give in to everything. He was lying, and he knew it.
“You really don’t realize how you make me feel, do you? I’m through with this!”

“With what?” Zac pleaded, getting hold of Nikki’s wrists and holding them tightly, scared she’d run away from him. He very well knew what she meant, but he didn’t believe it. He needed to hear it first. He couldn’t believe she’d just put an end to all those amazing moments they had shared. Moments in which nothing seemed to matter to them, except the other. He simply refused to believe she’d been stuck with all this sadness all those times, all those moments she’d moaned his name loudly, stroked his sweaty hair lovingly as he took her in his trembling arms afterwards, pecked him lovingly on the lips in between catching her breath… It was surreal. “You’re through with what, Nik? With me?”

Nikki kept her head turned away from him. She knew how his face would look now, how his eyes would mirror his soul, his sensitive side, how they’d weaken her. And that couldn’t happen, not this time.
“Yes, with you. With being the silly, chubby friend, pathetically crushing on you! With being heartbroken every time I see you in a magazine with her! I’m through with everything!”

“Nikki, you know I have to be seen with her! I told you that. Just give it some more time…” Zac replied as he pulled her closer to him, his tone prevalently begging.

“You’ve had enough time! I’ve been waiting for over a year for you! And what’s the result? It only brought me hurt and trouble!” As Nikki said this –better said, cried this –she looked up at Zac again, giving him the most evil glare she could between her tears. He was such an egoist! Was this really the only thing he could do? Tell her to wait? Was that what she meant to him?
She briefly considered to tell him about the baby and see if he would be mature enough to take responsibility for his deeds, but she eventually decided to stick to the original plan, not to tell him. After all, if he couldn’t make an effort for her just the way she was –without the pressure of a pregnancy –he wasn’t worth being with her.
“And you know what the worst part is?” Her voice suddenly softened, sounding hoarser and much more fragile, “You just keep getting my hopes up. You don’t even give me the frigging chance to move on because you keep on coming back! I haven’t been interested in any other guy ever since I laid eyes on you and it’s killing me!”
Some more tears rolled down her cheeks at those words, and Nikki sobbed loudly.

Zac sighed, and let go of one of her wrists, moving his now free hand over to her cheek to wipe the wet trail of sadness away. Nikki didn’t move, she just looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow,” Zac decided, nodding slowly at his own statement, “we both need some time to think about this situation and you’re obviously a little emotional.”

Nikki opened her mouth to protest, but kept quiet as Zac leaned in to softly peck her on the forehead before leaving the room in silence. He was right, this had gotten out of hand, they’d need a night or so to think this over.

_ _

Zac tossed and turned about in his bed restlessly. He couldn’t forget about the discussion he and Nikki had had about three hours ago. Three hours from which he had spent a mere two and a half in the guest bed already, but he just couldn’t find a way to fall asleep.

Sighing he threw the duvet off of him and sat up on the edge of the bed. I need to talk to Nikki, now. Carefully he got off of the bed, and tiptoed to the door, silently opening it and sneaking onto the landing. The luck was that Nikki slept right next to the guest room, but the contretemps was that her parents were in the bedroom next to hers, and weren’t gonna like it if they caught a boy in Nikki’s room, they were quite conservative.

So that’s why Zac decided to make as little noise as possible and not knock on the door, as he slowly opened it to tiptoe inside, leaving it ajar so a bundle of light shined into the room, coming from the small lamp he had hurriedly switched on in the hall to see where he was going. “Nikki?” He whispered, carefully approaching her bed. She didn’t answer, but Zac wasn’t sure if that was because she was asleep, or just so mad at that him that she refused to answer. “Nik, it’s me…”

As he arrived at her bed however, he spotted her eyes closed, and her breathing in a slow, steady pace. She was sleeping, or being very good at pretending so, and he sat himself down on the empty side of the mattress, an amorous smile forming on his face. She looked beautiful, but that came as no surprise of course, she always did.
Gently Zac moved his hand over to her, and wiped a smooth, dark lock of hair out of her face. Nikki didn’t move the littlest bit and Zac sighed.
“Nik,” he whispered, overwhelmed by guilt. The sleepless hours he had just experienced had proven their use, he finally realized how she must feel, how he had made her feel, “I don’t know if you’re awake, but if you are, I just want you to know… I just want you to know that I’ve been thinking… about us. Well, about me actually… And I realized I’ve been really selfish… I didn’t know you suffered like this, I didn’t mean to make you suffer, I just wanted to be with you, and I know you wanted to be with me too, but I never took the goodbye into consideration. It was what I had to do, and I now realize I didn’t think about you… And I just want you to know that I…” Zac paused for a second and took a deep breath, he didn’t like saying what he was about to, “…that I understand and will respect it if you want our relationship to be purely amicable. I’m not saying I won’t have a hard time accepting your decision, but I don’t want to hurt you any longer, therefore I love you too much…”

He waited for a moment, studying Nikki’s appearance. Her eyes were still firmly closed, and her breathing was slow and steady. It seemed like she really was asleep, and Zac sighed, realizing she hadn’t heard a word of what he had said. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow…

He smiled weakly, softened by the beauty of the sleeping girl in front of him, and leaned down slowly, leaving a gentle peck on her forehead. “Goodnight…”

“Nikki!” An enthusiastic squeal sounded through the room. Nikki looked up, recognizing that loud, crazy voice instantly.
“Amanda!” she smiled back, hugging her blonde co-star excited, “I missed you!”

“I missed you too.” Amanda replied, smiling happily at Nikki before looking through the basement, where her party was organized. It wasn’t a boring room though, neither was it dirty or messy. It had neat walls and tiles, perfectly clean, was decorated with balloons and festoons, and against the walls were long tables with snacks and drink.
“Zac told me he was stopping by to see you. Didn’t he come with you?”

Nikki shook her head, her smile fading at the mention of that name and she drifted off into thoughts.

“Zac…” Nikki loathed to be calling his name right now, not after their recent discussion, but it were her mom’s orders, “Zac, wake up. Breakfast is ready!”
There was no answer…
She shook her head sighing, not wanting to go in, still embittered by his words last evening, but she reluctantly pushed the door open anyway.
“Zac…?” Her face deformed in confusion as she saw the bed empty, and nothing in the room gave away anyone had been here recently. The open closet was empty, the bed was made and seemed unslept, and there was no bag or suitcase present. He was gone…

“No, I have no idea where he is.” Nikki replied, trying to pass over the subject that was Zac Efron.
“Okay,” Amanda nodded, sensing the uneasiness with which her good friend was talking, even though she couldn’t help but smile a little. Her tone of voice only increased her suspicion. Yes, she and Elijah had been suspecting something between best friends Zac and Nikki all along, but the two had always been denying that. It was a shame, the entire cast and crew had been thinking they were cute ever since the first day on set.
“Umm… Let’s go to the bar, Elijah, Jimmy and Adam are there, and probably some other people too by now.”   

Nikki nodded in agreement and followed Amanda through the crowd of dancing and talking people, to arrive at the bar –or better said, the table with at least twenty different sorts of drinks –to see not only Elijah, Jimmy and Adam, but also Brittany, Michelle, John, Queen and a few of the dancers who were currently not living it up on the dance floor.

“Nikki!” It sounded from Elijah, Brittany and Adam at the same time, as the rest smiled and greeted her –and some of them still Amanda –as well.
“Hey, it’s so nice to see you guys.” Nikki replied, her face lighting up again by the reunion with so many of her friends. She enthusiastically hugged all of them, she couldn’t believe how much she had missed them!

“What you gonna drink, Nik?” Elijah smiled, as he reached out to the table, over the filled glasses, to pick out the drink Nikki preferred.

“That would be nothing alcoholic.” A familiar, male voice sounded from behind them.
The group turned around instantly, to face Zac standing there, his eyes on Nikki, and a look on his face that couldn’t be categorized as one emotion.

“Zac…” Nikki murmured, staring at him in confusion. She didn’t know how to feel about his presence here. First of all, they hadn’t talked since their discussion, second he had left at night without a warning or a reason for that matter, and on top of that, he had just said a sentence that had alerted her alarm system. Nothing alcoholic? Why would he forbid her to drink alcohol –as he had never done before –if he had no importance in the matter? Please don’t tell me he knows…

“Zac, how are you?” Brittany’s enthusiast voice sounded suddenly, saving Nikki from the awkwardness in which she couldn’t find one single word.
“I’m great,” Zac passed her over, his eyes still on Nikki. She was staring at him too, but their expressions differed. Her jaw was dropped, her lips only brushing together occasionally, trying to form any word, while on his lips, a mysterious smile was playing. 

“Nikki, I need to talk to you…” he suddenly spoke, as he stepped a little closer. His little smile remained, even though Nikki gave him an evil glare in respond.
“No you don’t. Unless you’re gonna tell me why you left without a warning.”

“As a matter of fact I do,” Zac answered, stepping even closer, looking around him uncomfortably for a few seconds –he actually preferred talking to her in private first. “I…”

Nikki rolled her eyes at his fumbling. Sure he was. He was about to make up just another excuse. After finding him gone this morning, she knew just how much she could rely on Zac. Not at all, and from then on, she had been even more grateful she hadn’t told him about the baby. But then again, why did he say the thing about the alcohol? He couldn’t know, could he? There was no way. “Urgh…” She let out an irritated groan and reached over to grab a drink herself. She went for some simple orange juice, she was not quite sure how this pregnancy-thing was gonna develop, but as long as she hadn’t made a decision about the little person growing inside of her, she wasn’t going to do stupid things.

“Nik…” Zac pleaded, sensing her irritation. He knew he should’ve woken her or at least left her a message, but then he should’ve explained the whole thing, and he hadn’t worked out how he was gonna get around the reading-her-diary part yet. Everything had went so fast too. If he’d wanted to go back to LA, he had to hurry to catch another flight.

“Whoa, wait… What happened between the two of you?” Elijah wondered, his eyes alternately on Nikki and Zac. He knew that there was more to them than just friendship, or there was at least a possibility to be, but right now, even of their friendship, wasn’t much visible.

“He suddenly disappeared, without even telling me!” Nikki snapped, turning to her group of cast mates next to her, glaring at Zac from the corner of her eye. To everyone except for him, she probably didn’t make much sense, but she didn’t care, she didn’t mean to, she just wanted to make him feel guilty. Not only for leaving without a warning, but mostly for leaving without finishing their conversation like he promised, and for everything that had need to be discussed during that conversation.

“Well, was I supposed to dump Vanessa over the phone maybe?” Zac blurted out. It had no use trying to keep this discrete, Nikki wouldn’t listen anyway, so he might as well throw it out here, where everyone could hear him. “She’d hunt me down and tear me to pieces alive!”

A stunned silence fell, lasting for a few seconds before it got broken by mumbling and questioning.
“You dumped Vanessa?”
“Man, are you serious?”
“Finally!”

Nikki’s jaw dropped, and for a second she thought she was dreaming a dream too good to be true, but the shocked faces of her friends only confirmed that what she was hearing was real. “You mean… You two broke up?”

 In response, Zac nodded, slowly, carefully scanning his best friend’s face for any reaction to the breaking news, any deforming, frowning, maybe even a smile through her anger, anything at all.

“But… But what about Disney?” Nikki murmured. This was what she always wanted! Zac to be single –not for long of course. Him to dump to the girl that supposedly made him so unhappy. Only, now that the time, unexpectedly, had finally come, she suddenly felt egoistic. Was it because she lightly claimed him to do so during the quarrel yesterday? Zac had his job, his career, his Disney-contract! It was selfish of her to make him give up all of it, put it all on the line.

Zac scoffed, coming across as a little arrogant, but in a good way. A very good way, it turned out, as he spoke. “Screw Disney. I should’ve done this a long time ago!”

“Then why now?” Nikki asked, confused about the sudden haste of the situation. She shouldn’t have questioned that however, because as the mysterious smile returned to his face, and his bright, azure blue eyes wandered down over her stomach for a second, before shooting back up to lock with her deep chocolate brown pair, she knew exactly why now. “Let’s talk somewhere in privet.” He nodded his head to another direction, holding out his hand for her to grab.  

So she did, following him bewilderedly. How did he know? He wasn’t supposed to. But that wasn’t what mainly shocked her. She was too amazed by his sudden courage, to even think of worrying about the baby-secret. Where had he found the power, the guts to drop Disney like this? To dump their little miss-not-so-perfect?
She stopped her trail of thoughts, as Zac closed a door behind them. Nikki looked around, they were in the hall, down at the staircase that lead up to the ground floor. However, they stayed standing, right where they were, the door closed behind them, the small hall empty.

“How come you didn’t tell me?” Zac’s voice, kept down low just in case, claimed her attention.
“Tell you what?” Nikki replied, like she had no clue what he was talking about. Her face however, gave away everything. Her eyes were staring at him widely in disbelief, and a pink blush graced her cheeks.
“About the baby. You’re pregnant.”
Zac didn’t look mad, rather surprised, pleasantly surprised, and content.
Nikki looked away, her face flushing ten times harder. There was no use in denying it now. Zac knew, and he had practically given up half his career –Disney –for that. Why didn’t she tell him? Because he was her best friend and only that? No, she knew him well. He would’ve helped her through it. Because it would ruin their affair? Which she had wanted to end anyway. She sighed, suddenly, she could not find any excuse for not telling him, whereas a day ago, she had probably had a hundred.
“I don’t know Zac, I… I think I didn’t want to get you into trouble.” She concluded. Had she really tried to protect him, as she at the same time had loathed him for being with who he was, and for listening to the company that had told him to?

“In trouble?” He asked, something offended sounding in his voice. Nikki looked up, her mouth already opened to apologize, in case she had insulted him in one way or another. He had dumped her, she could in her heart not find a reason to be still mad at him.
“Zac, I…”

He smiled, causing her to still, before continuing. “Nik, this is great!”

Nikki’s jaw dropped at his statement. She had expected him in several emotions in case he ever found out. Mad, furious, shocked, scared, cowardly. But never happy and carefree.
“But this is ruining your career, Disney…”

“Disney is over for me, Nikki.” Zac interrupted her, stepping closer to her, despite they were already near each other, due to lack of space in the little hall. “It’s not my career. I have plenty of offers from other companies. And like I said before, I should’ve done this way sooner. I can’t believe I actually waited for a situation like this. I mean, why couldn’t I just drop it all and choose for you, because… because of who you are?”

Nikki smiled up at him, for the first time since being in his presence today, and reached out for his cheek, cupping it lightly. “Because you were scared…” She didn’t know if that was true, it was possible, but she didn’t care. It was in the past now, and Nikki was not the person to look back.

Zac smiled back at her, not just a cheeky smile now, but a genuine one, reaching all the way to his gorgeous azure blue eyes, which also displayed yet another emotion, which Nikki could not define. Angst, regret, relief?
“Then why am I not scared now? I’m going to be a daddy…” He smiled some more, reaching out for Nikki’s hand on his cheek, covering it with his one lovingly.

Nikki chuckled, her eyes filling up with tears. They were not unhappy tears however, she had never felt more blessed, looking into her best friend’s bright pair, knowing she had made her decision, and nothing could still change that. She was gonna keep the baby. They were gonna keep the baby. “Don’t worry, you still have plenty of time to be scared.”

Zac beamed down at her, using his free hand to rest on her back, pulling her in eagerly, to, as her curvy body touched his muscled chest closely, put his other arm around her as well, resting his chin on the top of her head. Oh, how he loved this height difference.

Nikki sniffed lightly, blinking her tears away as she rested her head against his hard chest happily. “I love you, Zaccy…” It sounded subdued, as she refused to move her head away from the perfection that was his upper body, but she knew he heard her.

“I love you too, Nik.” He replied, in a whisper. It was not like he did not want the world to hear –on the contrary, he wanted to shout it of the rooftops now –it was just that this moment was something intimate, something between him and Nikki, and it didn’t need to be loud, there didn’t even need to be spoken any more.

_ _

“Shh, I can’t hear what they’re saying.” Amanda brought her index finger to her lips, motioning Elijah, Brittany and even Jimmy to be quiet. The four could not resist their longing to know what was going on between best friends Zac and Nikki. Lead by Amanda and Elijah, they firmly supported the idea more was going on between them. Even Adam, John, Queen, Michelle and another great part of the cast –even though they had found it immature to eavesdrop on them and had stayed far from the basement door –knew it.

“No wonder if you’re talking so much!” Elijah blamed her, trying to get closer to the door as well, dying to know what was being said.

“Ouch, E, you’re standing on my foot!” Brittany hissed, pushing him off before putting the right side of her head right back against the white door curiously.

“Guys, please. A little more subtle.” Jimmy urged the three young people for silence. He might have been over thirty, and been married, he was no more mature than the rest of them. Proving so, he wriggled himself in between Amanda and Brittany, resting his ear against the door. “Yes, I can hear something… Shh…”

“What?” Elijah asked enthusiastically, once again, vainly, attempting to reach the door, claimed by the two girls and now also Jimmy.

“I hear…”

“You hear?” Amanda practically shouted, pressing her ear against the door harder, in an attempt to hear what Jimmy did.

“Shh!” Jimmy and Brittany hushed her, listening intently, their curiosity increasing with every second, and even the tiniest little sound they heard behind the door.

“You shh!” Amanda protested, not taking her head away from the door, “Wait, I hear something…”

“Let me listen!” Elijah lost his patience, squeezing in between the three, “Ouch, Manda!”

“Shh…” Now sounded from three mouths at the same time.

Suddenly, the large, white door was pressed forward, their four heads smacking against it. With pounding hearts Amanda, Elijah, Brittany and Jimmy stumbled backwards quickly, at the realization of what was happening, trying to act as casual as possible.

“What the hell?” Zac exclaimed, as he stepped out, leading Nikki after him, holding her hand, their fingers intertwined. The both looked from Amanda, who was twirling a lock of her blonde hair around her index finger, smiling nervously, as Brittany pretended like she was smoothening out her knee-long black dress, and Elijah and Jimmy were talking, although their conversation now seemed to be fallen silent. “Guys!”

“Were you listening in on us?” Nikki asked, despite feeling a little offended, a smile gracing her lips. Typical of her friends.

“We’re sorry, we were just curious.” Brittany apologized to Zac and Nikki for the four of them.

“It was Manda’s idea.” Elijah stepped in, nudging Amanda as he blamed her.

“Hey!” The blonde spoke offended, hitting Elijah on his arm lightly, even though she knew he was totally right. So did Zac and Nikki. This kind of ideas always were Amanda’s. She was curious and especially determined like no other.

Zac chuckled. “It’s fine.” It really was, nothing could still ruin his day –or his life for that matter. He had just gotten the best news of his life, the love of his life, and his freedom, finally. Nothing could still ruin it for him, especially not his friends.

“So did you hear it?” Nikki grinned, looking up at Zac in total bliss. On one side she hoped they did, so Amanda and Brittany could squeal along with her, but on the other side, she hoped they didn’t, so she could tell it them herself. She was so excited.

“No, but we would like to!” Amanda nearly squealed, at just the look on her friend’s face, mirrored exactly by Zac’s. They seemed so happy!

Zac beamed down at Nikki, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him. Nikki cuddled into him, smiling up. “You tell them.”

Zac shook his head, looking at his new real girlfriend softened. No, they had not literally agreed on becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, two close people like them just adapted to it naturally. “No, you tell them.” He whispered lovingly, pecking her on the lips gently, twice.

“No, you tell them.” Nikki giggled at his kisses, putting her hand on his chest to rub over it softly, in an amorous gesture.

“Guys, come on!” Brittany said, urging them to continue, her friends’ faces expressing exactly the way she also felt.

“What is going on here?” Adam mingled in, coming from the table across the room. He rested his arms over both Elijah and Amanda’s shoulders, as John, Queen and Michelle followed him.

“Zac and Nikki have news.” Jimmy announced, being just as excited and curious about what the two –acting suspiciously couply all of the sudden –had to say.

“Ah, well. I’d love to hear that too.” Adam said, looking from Zac to Nikki intently. He had wanted to act grown-up and stay away from the door, but inside, he had been burning with curiosity as well, as they had disappeared from the rest for a little while, after what had seem like a lovers’ quarrel.

John, Queen and Michelle nodded assenting, standing next to the rest, waiting patiently.

“Umm, okay.” Zac said, not able to control his smile. He looked down at Nikki again, pecking her on her nose this time. He just couldn’t help it. He was so in love with her. So in love and he finally had her. For real, to himself, along with a little baby of their own, soon. “Go ahead, Nik.” He said, lovingly rubbing her nose with his own.

Nikki smiled up at him, taking his free hand, placing it over her stomach in a way that left nothing to imagination. Then she looked back at the small crowd in front of them. Some faces still curious, others deformed with surprise and held back excitement, ‘til their assumptions got confirmed.
“Me and Zac, we’re expecting a little baby.” Nikki’s smile grew bigger as she said it, and she felt a few tears welling up in her dark brown eyes once again.

A sudden, loud and enthusiast applause erupted, out sounding the cooing coming from Amanda, Brittany, Queen and Michelle. Zac smiled big, pecking Nikki on the temple of her head, as she wiped a happy tear away.

“Congratulations!” Brittany said, immediately stepping forward to hug the new couple tightly, before both giving them a big, felicitating kiss. She was quickly followed by the rest.

Story: Hairspray
Main characters: Zac & Nikki/ Zikki
Type of story: Oneshot
Words: 5.597
Rated: All ages
Plot: Zac & Nikki get brought together by fate (or is it Santa?) on Christmas Eve.
A/N: I got inspired to write this after listening to the song 'My Only Wish'. I know the plot hasn't got much to it & the story isn't really that good, but I was just in the Christmas mood so hurriedly wrote this. 


Nikki turned off the TV with an unhappy sigh. Not even an overload of Christmas movies, currently being broadcasted on about every channel, could cheer her up.
Neither could the beautifully decorated Christmas tree, the magically lit back garden or even the wonderful thought her favorite holiday of the year was coming up in less than a week.
More, not even the thick snow carpet covering the landscape of New York, getting the hopes up on a white Christmas for the first time in years, could make her feel better, make her forget what she’d seen earlier this evening, when boredom had brought her to going out for a little walk.

That walk, during which the creaking of the snow beneath her feet had still been gladding her, had eventually lead her to the old play garden near the central park, where she and her brother Joey had been living it up as little kids, and was now totally snowed under, and crowded with little kids, watching the snow like a blind person who could see the world for the first time.
Not that Nikki blamed them, for them it was probably the very first time they ever got to see snow.
Sadly, the cuteness of toddlers building snowmen alike figures in the snow, wasn’t the only scene to be seen today.
All over the play ground and park, seated on benches or walking though the fresh snow, were loved up couples, cuddling up close to chase away the cold, and occasionally stealing a kiss, or another just as amorous gesture, which, on sentimental days like these, had only emphasized Nikki’s loneliness.

The girl sighed, turning to look out of the window sadly. For the first time in the twenty years she had lived, the thick, white whirling down snowflakes didn’t manage to bring a blissful smile to her face.
This Christmas wasn’t going to be complete, not what it should be, not without one specific present, one that wasn’t located underneath her Christmas tree this year, and would never be.

As she was twisting a curly strand of hair around her index finger, Nikki caught herself on childlike desires. If Santa only existed…
She knew what she’d be asking him, for sure. Someone who could fill the emptiness she had been feeling lately, someone who could take away her loneliness, someone who could bring back her happiness. And not just someone. No, there was only one person who could, and she knew exactly who… 

It was as she tore her eyes away from the window to watch the Christmas tree, she got an idea. Why wouldn’t she write old Saint Nick a letter?
Okay, it would be pointless and even a bit ridiculous at her age, but she could use it as some kind of diary? Instead of just filling another page up with nonsense today, she could actually write something she’d been bottling up for over a year now?

_ _

“Dear Santa,
Sorry for not writing you over the last ten years. I hope you remember me, Nikki Blonsky.
I’m sorry for only sending you this letter now, but if it’s any help, this year I only have a one-item list…”

Nikki bit the top of her pen, tapping it against her teeth nervously. How was she going to handle this?
Even though no one would ever get to read her letter, for some reason this was different than writing a diary. Was it because she was actually addressing a person? Was it because she’d have to literally mention his name? Was it because she felt insanely desperate for doing something childish like this?
She shook her head, not knowing what to think, neither what to write. How did you ask a fictive person for the love of your live who lived on the other end of the continent and of whom you knew you’d not even get to see him on Christmas anyway?

“But the one present I’m longing for, is one of priceless value, to me at least.
It’s my best friend I’m asking for. Zac Efron…”

Nikki paused again for a second, at the awkwardness of it all. She’d sink down into the ground with embarrassment if someone, even just her Mom, would ever get to read this.

“I know what I’m asking for is nearly impossible, especially on such a short notice. I don’t even know if he’ll fit in your bag, but he's all I want and I haven’t asked you for a favor in ten years.
That's my only wish this year, and will be for every other year…

Love, Nikki… xoxo.”

The girl put down her pen. There, that should do…
Still feeling pretty crazy for doing this, she carefully fold the letter, and put it in an envelope, which she gently sealed with a kiss, before writing down “Nick Claus, North pole,” on the front of it.
She then put it down on her desk, and slowly, not to make any noise –it was past midnight and her parents and brother were already sleeping –sneaked over to her bedside table, pulling open the first drawer to take out her fluffy pink, silver butterfly-covered, diary.

Just as silently as she had moved over there, she tiptoed back to her desk, and opened the diary at today’s page, shoving the envelope in between it, staring at it for a few seconds. Okay, so it had had no use, but it couldn’t harm either…

_ _

“You got to be kidding me!” Zac groaned, just resisting the serious longing to smash his iPhone against the expensive wall of his luxurious hotel suite.

“I’m sorry sir, but no planes are arriving to or taking off from New York today, not until the snowstorm has died down.” The annoying voice on the other end of the line sounded, as to expect, giving the exact same answer as the three other times Zac had called.

Irritated he hung up, without any further word and dropped down onto his bed. This conversation would result in nothing anyway, just like the previous ones.
This whole situation was messed up.
What should’ve been a quick trip to New York City for an interview and photo shoot, turned into a real nightmare. And not just a nightmare, but one that had been catastrophic to his holiday plans.

For the first time since his career had taken off, he had had time to spend the holidays with his family. He thought back to his apartment, where his suitcase was already standing by the door, ready to grab while dropping his current bag pack inside, and continue his journey, to his parents’ house.
He could imagine his plate, fork, knife and spoon of his Mom’s best cutlery, being ready on the table, awaiting his coming. The extra presents beneath the tree, and most of all, the excited faces of his family.

All of it would be ruined now, Christmas Eve was tonight, and he wouldn’t be there, because of a stupid snowstorm…
The boy sighed at the thought of informing his parents about this latest turns.
Time to give them a call…

_ _

Zac spread out on his bed, his last phone conversation still hunting through his mind.
He had told his Mom he wouldn’t be able to make it tonight, and most probably tomorrow neither. He couldn’t say she was mad, but she had certainly sounded frustrated, and above all disappointed, and he, being the inveterate Mommy’s boy he was, had started feeling even more lousy than he already had.

Why did this have to happen to him? Why now? Why on Christmas Eve?
He had been looking forward to this day for weeks! He’d go and stay at his parents’ house for ten entire days, sleep in his old, familiar bedroom, just fool around with his dogs Dreamer and Puppy and cuddle up to his cat Simon whenever he wanted to, he had even looked forward to being pulled pranks on a hundred times by his younger brother Dylan.

But sorrowing about it now had no use anyway. Things were they way they were, and nothing was gonna change that. He wasn’t gonna be able to spend Christmas Eve even close to his family, and Christmas itself was highly doubtful too.
All Zac could do now, was hope for the storm to die down soon, and the circumstances of New Year’s Eve to be better.
He’d have to face the fact he was gonna be spending Christmas Eve alone in some stupid hotel, equipped with way too many luxurious novelties.
How could a flat screen TV, surround sound or a whirlpool bath possibly make him happy if he couldn’t be with his family on the greatest day of the year? 

Slowly he got up and strolled to the window, finding snow as far as he could see.
The weather here was certainly different from the weather back in LA.
He smiled slightly as he thought back to a very good friend of him, who had enthusiastically told him about the New York snow.
Now, the snow, being the cause of his problems, didn’t make him happy, but the thought of that very good friend sure did. Her name was Nikki Blonsky, and Zac recalled her as the most optimistic, lively person he had ever met. Due to his busy schedule, he hadn’t managed to talk to her in ages, but in just seconds, he could fully recall her joyful face, her lovely scent, her adorable giggle and her sexy curves.

He shook his head, he still hadn’t mend his ways. Every thought of her still caused butterflies in his stomach. He remembered crushing on her back on the set of Hairspray, the movie they did together, but never giving in to it. He was solidly convinced it was just a whim, and that it would blow over.

Well, it hadn’t. When he saw her back at the Hairspray promo tour, he had been just as crazy about her as he had been on set, if not even crazier.
Stupidly enough, he had yet again pushed back his feelings, telling himself he already had a girlfriend and he couldn’t just put a solid relationship on the line for what he still considered a whim. But most of all, he was scared, scared of rejection. He and Nikki had become best friends on set, and he very well realized that if the feelings weren’t mutual, he risked losing the friendship they had built up. And out of anything, that was the thing he least wanted to happen.

Now, of that solid relationship, nothing was left no more, Zac was now single and free, but at the same time, also his friendship with Nikki had faded.
He had always put his career first, and that had caused him to not staying in touch with her. It was not like he could stop by whenever he wanted to either, she lived on the other end of the United States. He lived in LA, she in New York.

It was only as he dropped down onto the large, soft bed again, pictures of Nikki still stuck on his retina, he came up with the best idea he had come up with in years.
It was the season of forgiving, of being close to family and friends. And okay, Nikki lived of the entire other side of New York, but just because the planes refused to fly out, didn’t mean there were no cabs driving…

_ _

“Nikki, can you carry in that turkey, please?” Karen Blonsky asked, sounding unusually stressed. Although, unusual wasn’t the right word. It was Christmas Eve, one of the few days of the year on which Nikki’s Mom was always stressed.

The entire family was over, and dinner needed to be served. For Karen, Christmas Eve wasn’t so much of a holiday, rather a working day. She’d have to cook all day long, run around the house to get the last details ready, and at the same time boss around her family, so everything would be finished in time.

“Yes, Mom.” Nikki walked into the kitchen and picked up the plate with turkey, ready to carry it into the living room, where her Dad, brother and grandparents were seated, as she overheard the doorbell. Who could that be?

“Joey, get the door!” Karen yelled in between putting the just finished desert into the fridge.

The boy sighed, obviously annoyed by having to follow his Mom’s orders, but he got up eventually, strolling to the door. Just seconds after he opened it, a yell resounded, “Nikki, it’s for you!”

Nikki put down the turkey, and rolled her eyes. The stress was seriously getting to her too. Usually she loved the atmosphere at Christmas Eve, but this year was different. Her mood about the entire Christmas thing, had anything but improved since last week.
Irritated she legged over, into the hall, mumbling under her breath. “Can’t people see that I’m busy, I’m seri…” she stopped talking abruptly, and her breath caught stuck in her throat for a second, as she looked up, to find a hallucination of her lonely mind on the doorstep.

“Hi.” It sounded from his mouth, curling up into a smile to reveal his perfect teeth.
The girl gasped. This fantasy could also talk! She blinked a few times, furiously trying to get back to reality. Not that she didn’t like this dream image, but she didn’t want to get false hopes, and especially didn’t want to think she was going crazy.

However, the image did not disappear. Nikki swallowed, staring him up and down unbelieving. “Zac…?” She uttered, resting her gaze on his gorgeous face. He looked even more handsome than last time she saw him. His hair was all naturally dark blonde again, on his chin were a few male though very neat and appealing beard stubbles, and his sparkling blue eyes were even more clear, complimented by the azure blue shirt he was wearing underneath his grey jacket.

“Thank god you still recognize me…” He joked, still smiling that ever charming, perfect smile. The entire ride here he had been very nervous, scared for Nikki’s reaction after not hearing from him for at least five months, but as soon as he saw her again, all those worries had disappeared like snow in summer. If you were around Nikki, you just had to smile.

He couldn’t grasp how great she looked. Either his memory hadn’t done her any justice, or Nikki had grown even more beautiful than last year.
She looked so pretty in her black, knee-long dress, accentuating every very curved she owned. She’d combined the dress with a few silver accents, being her flats and the hair-ribbon she was wearing, sparkling almost as hard as her deep brown eyes, and her big, roguish smile that was currently taking over her face.

“Oh my god, Zac!” She squealed, rushing over to him happily, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “It’s been so long!” She rested her head against his chest, and could feel his rock hard muscles, at the same time taking in the scent of his familiar fragrance. He was for real! “I missed you!”

“I missed you too…” Zac replied immediately, truthfully, wrapping his arms around Nikki also, happily enjoying the hug. “Aren’t you mad at me?”

At that question, Nikki looked up to her friend, a confused expression taking over her face. “Mad? Why would I ever be mad at you?” Asking that, she didn’t let go of the hug, on the contrary, she tightened her grip on him even more.

“Well, because I’ve kind of been a jerk to neglect you…” He spoke, looking down at Nikki seriously, now more than ever regretting he hadn’t come see her sooner, as he took in her beautiful, happy face again.

“Nonsense,” Nikki hit his chest, a little irritated her best friend only even dared to think that kind of thoughts, “you’ve been busy. I understand… And besides, I could never get mad at you!”

“Umm, Nikki, I’m going back inside,” Joey interjected, slowly stepping backwards, feeling anything but comfortable in the middle of this happy reunion. “You coming or…”

“Tell Mom I’m out for a walk with Zac,” Nikki cut him off, kicking off her flats and opening up the shoe closet to grab a pair of warm shoes. Her brother nodded and disappeared to the living room again.

“A walk?” Zac brought out a little reluctant, as he watched how Nikki put on her shoes and took her jacket off of the coat hook. “Nik, I just came from outside, it’s freezing cold!”

“No it’s not. It’s snowing, come on!” The girl urged, zipping up his jacket also, and then grabbing his hand to lead him outside. “There’s this really nice, snowy place I want to show you…”

“I’ve seen enough snow for the rest of my life…” Zac quietly protested, but as Nikki continued dragging him down the path, to the street, he decided not to discuss the matter any further. Any place was fun in Nikki’s presence, even if the temperature was below the freezing point. 

_ _

“Here it is…” Nikki laughed excited, opening the gate to the little playground she had just visited last week. The snow carpet had became even thicker, but the happy families and loved up couples had disappeared, they were all alone.

“Wow… A play garden.” Zac spoke, trying to sound just the littlest bit excited, his breath forming little cloudlets in the cold air.

“It’s not about the play garden,” Nikki smiled, amused by a shivering Zac. He was a typical Californian, in-need-of-sun guy, not used to the average winter temperature, “I wanted to talk to you in privet…”

“And we couldn’t just go to your room or something?” He asked, in between the chattering of his teeth, as he rubbed his upper arms in order to feel a little bit warmer.

“Aww,” Nikki giggled, walking closer to Zac and wrapping her arms around him again. For a second, it made both of them think back to the good old times, on set and during the promotional tour of Hairspray. They were always hugging, seizing every excuse they could do so. Suddenly, she sighed, looking up at her former co-star seriously. “Zac… Why are you here?”

Zac sighed as well, letting her hug him, not intending to hug her back. He didn’t find he deserved it after he reminded why he was here. “Honestly?” He asked, in his mind already trying to form an as friendly answer as possible.

Nikki nodded, from his behavior making up he wouldn’t be giving her the answer she was hoping for. Of course not, that scenario only took place in her dreams. The scenario of Zac showing up at her doorstep, loudly declaring his love for her, and then grabbing her to pull her in and kiss her with all passion they both had to bottle up ever since they’d met.

“I couldn’t get a plane home, because of the snow storm, and then I thought of you, and that maybe I could and come see you again, now I was here anyway…” Zac replied truthfully, feeling guilty for having to say it. Much rather he had said he’d had to see her, and nothing could stop him from that. That he had flown all the way to New York, just to wish her a Merry Christmas. Now that he actually thought about it, why hadn’t he done that?

Nikki faked a smile, she knew she should’ve expected an answer like this.
“Of course, the snow storm kept you here…” she muttered, her eyes betraying her sadness.

“And good it did…” Zac instantly replied, not even thinking up an answer, as reaction to noticing this tiny little signal right away, finally wrapping his arms around her also.

Nikki’s eyes widened slightly. Was it just her or did his last words actually sound like something that could have been said in her dream? “What do you mean?” She carefully asked, confused. Zac would never say anything to her that sounded amorously in any way, they were friends.

“I mean that I’m happy to see you again.” He spoke, meaning every word of what he said. He didn’t consider the snow storm as a nightmare anymore, more like fate. Maybe, he just had to be here, was he supposed to be spending his Christmas Eve here. And if that meant spending it close to Nikki, who was he to complain?

Nikki giggled slightly at his answer, not knowing what to say. That she was happy to see him again too? No, he knew that. That she didn’t believe what he was saying? No, she believed him, he would never lie to her, just like she would never lie to him. Maybe it was best if she said nothing at all, the silence was pleasant. Instead, she just rested her head against his chest again, holding him tighter.

“Hmm…” Zac closed his eyes for a few seconds, and rubbed her back lightly, smiling.
He couldn’t believe he had to miss out on her hugs for so long, on hearing her voice, breathing in the scent of her strawberry shampoo, or just being looked at through those deep brown eyes. “I love hugging you…” He mumbled, leaning down to rest his head on top of hers, just because reaching for her shoulder was barely undoable cause of the height difference.

“I love that you love hugging me.” Nikki grinned, rubbing her head against his chest gently. She just loved to be able to do that whenever she wanted, not caring about what anyone would think, but she knew better. She couldn’t do that, it would give away her feelings for her best friend, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.
Okay, she’d love for it to happen, if Zac would react positive, but the chances that would happen, were basically one to a million. If he liked her as more, he’d had plenty of time to make that clear, Nikki didn’t cherish any hopes anymore. She chuckled silently as she recalled her letter so Santa last week. Now, being in Zac’s arms, even just as friends, she almost kind of started to believe in him. Not in her wildest dreams she had even expected him to just be here, in New York, next to her.

Zac laughed at her comment, finally letting go of her. He wished he could express her how he felt, the feelings that had never left in the first place, but now that he saw her again, had come back ten times harder. His biggest problem was, he didn’t dare to. He was scared to ruin something great, by reaching out for something perfect.

Nikki used the comfortable silence to think to look around the snowy landscape, enjoying it, even though it had been snowed under for at least two weeks straight.
Until this morning, she hadn’t been able to look at snow the same magical way as she could have when she was a little girl, but suddenly, with Zac by her side, the white precipitation owned something wonderful again. It’s like he brought a magical touch to just everything. She needed to know now. Now that he was here, on Christmas Eve, for maybe the only time in her life.“What do you think of me, Zac?” She whispered, turning back to him as she asked him this.

“Uhh…” Zac let out a little laugh, looking around the white environment as soon as Nikki had fired her question. What was he supposed to answer on that? “I think you’re a very nice, pretty…” he got cut off by a little hand reaching for his cheek and turning his head, so his bright blue eyes met a chocolate brown pair, Nikki’s pair.

“Look at me, Zac…” she said, a begging tone resounding in her voice. She was desperate, what did he really think of her? She cupped his cheek lightly, staring at him uninterrupted, repeating her question. “What do you think of me?”

Zac swallowed, he had no clue about what to say, and this time it wasn’t because he was caught in between the crush-friendship thing, this time, it was because he was stuck for words, looking into Nikki’s eyes.
“I… I…” And that was where the boy lost all control of himself. Screw the line between friendship and love, screw what other people thought, screw being scared of what would happen. He’d never know if he never tried. Now, before he ruined any chance of looking into those soulful brown eyes for the rest of his life. Those eyes which drew him closer, and closer, and closer, until he suddenly found his nose touching hers, and his lips meeting her soft, voluminous pair. He felt the corners of them curling up slightly, and added pressure to what had first been a carefully exploring kiss, smiling into it as well. Now that was what he thought of her.

Slowly, as the lack of renewed breath started playing tricks on the newfound lovebirds, they pulled back, and Zac could finally put into words, what he hadn’t been able to say before, but had tried to put into the kiss, what he had been bottling up for two years straight. “I love you , Nik.”

Nikki smiled, rubbing her nose against his. He felt cold, and so did she, but she barely realized, warmed by his words. “I love you more.”

“I love you most.” Zac’s smile turned into a grin, as he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back again, as another cloudlet of cold breath escaped his mouth.

“I love you more than most…” Nikki giggled, looking up at the bright blue peepers of her best friend contently. It was only then it hit her. Now what? Was he her boyfriend now? Or was this just it? They kissed, told each other some lovey dovey, corny –yet so heavenly and romantic –sentences, and he was gonna leave again in a day or two, pretending none of this had ever happened? “So what does this mean?”

Zac blinked, surprised by her sudden question. “It means whatever you want it to mean, Nik…” And that, he meant. If she wanted to start a relationship, he was all in for it. If she wanted to back out of this and forget about what had just happened, he’d accept that too. Less enthusiastically of course, but he was up to whatever made her happy.

To Nikki, it was clear what she wanted it to mean. She wanted it to mean what she had been dreaming of ever since she’d laid eyes on him. No need to even tell him that.
“How do I know you won’t leave me?”

Zac smiled, interpreting her question as her choosing the option he preferred as well, and took hold of both Nikki’s hands. “I promise you.”

“How?” Nikki giggled, she didn’t exactly need to know how Zac promised her, but she just couldn’t resist asking. She could already imagine how cute he would be, trying to explain, being his adorable, dorky self.

Zac grinned down at her, caressing the palms of her hands lightly with his thumbs, as he thought about the best promise he could make the girl he loved. “Marry me…” He joked, dropping down on one knee, in the ice-cold snow, giving Nikki his cheekiest smile.

The girl laughed. Now that wasn’t exactly the explanation she had expected, but it belonged pretty much to the same category. “You dork!” She giggled, bending down quickly to grab a handful of snow and shove it right down Zac’s jacket.

“Hey!” Zac brought out, acting offended, and reaching out for some fresh snow himself, “You’re hurting my feelings.” Without any further words, the precipitation ended up right in Nikki’s face, and the girl herself into the thick snow carpet, with her blue eyed prince on top of her.

Nikki only laughed, wiping her face quickly. Wow, snow suddenly seemed way less cold with Zac on top of her. “You’re crazy!”

Zac shook his head fervently. “No, I’m not.” He glared at her through his breathtaking blue peepers, and Nikki leaned in to kiss him again, moving her hands over to his hair, to run them through it slowly. It felt cold and wet, due to the excess of snow in it, but she didn’t care. She had always been wanting to do this, and a little precipitation, wasn’t gonna stop her now she finally could.

She was eventually the one to pull back as well, the biggest smile since he’d seen her today, lighting up her gorgeous face, making him fall in love even more.
“Then what are you?”

Zac looked at her, leaning in again, yearning for more of this. Her sweet kisses, the tingling touch of her digits trough his hair. This was all he needed for the rest of his life, all he needed to suddenly realize, he wasn’t joking around anymore. “I’m serious…”

Nikki leaned back, frowning, and Zac got off of her, repositioning on one knee. “Nikki, marry me.” He breathed, his eyes wide, his cheeks red. Nikki wasn’t certain it was because of the cold, or rather because of the warmth that was also spreading through her body after the few amazing kisses they had shared. At least that’s what she thought of them.

She laughed, using her hands to her support to stand up straight again, the back of her dress and jacket soaked. “Zac… Get up, it’s freezing cold in the snow.”

The boy shook his head once again, staring up at her intently. Was it the Christmas atmosphere? Her kisses completely blowing his mind? Just being in her presence, and finally knowing for sure, she’d choose for him anytime. “No, not before you answer me.”

“Zac…” Nikki’s smiled faded, as soon as Zac and his knee faced the coldness of the layer thick snow carpet long enough to make her realize he wasn’t playing around. He really meant this. Her jaw dropped, and for a few seconds, she totally forgot where she was. There was no play garden, no snow, not even Christmas, just Zac and her. “I… I don’t know what to say…”

“Say yes,” Zac replied aptly, wriggling around in the snow a bit. He couldn’t feel his knee anymore, it was practically frozen by the coldness of the white covered bottom, but he didn’t care. He really was not gonna get up before he got an answer out of Nikki. Just the start of showing her he meant what he said.

Nikki could feel her heart pounding in her chest, like it wanted to jump out and shout ‘YES’ so loud entire New York could hear it, but her deliberate side, said it was stupid.
It told her that it was impossible to just accept a proposal from a person she hadn’t seen in months, especially not on Christmas Eve, when the sentimental mood drove people to even crazier things than they would normally do. “Zac, I don’t know… We haven’t seen each other in months…”

“Exactly…” the boy replied, he’d seen this objection coming, but unlike Nikki, he could only see another reason to do this. “And could that stop our feelings?”

For a minute or so, Nikki didn’t reply, as she let his words sink in. He was right, totally right… He always was. “No…” She then finally spoke, a large smile taking over her face. “And yes… Yes, I'll marry you!”

_ _

Nikki smiled, pulling the curtain away from her bedroom window, and then peeked around for a second, moved by the sight of a sleeping Zac Efron, on her side of the bed. They’d need to have a serious talk about that one of these days. The weak sunlight, breaking through between the still heavy falling snow, didn’t seem to bother him at all. He just slept on peacefully, softly snoring.

Nikki held back a giggle as she turned back to the window, and opened up the pink, fluffy diary she was holding, opening it up, on the happened events of past week. One day was left out. The day she’d wrote so-called Santa a letter… that was not where it was supposed to be anymore. Weird… Nikki could’ve sworn she’d put it in between the 17^th and the 19^th of December.
With a confused look on her sleepy face, she started leafing through it, searching for the addressed, closed envelope, containing her biggest wish. Gone…!

She held the book up, shaking it, but nothing fell out. Where did her letter go?

“Morning…” A low voice behind her moaned, startling her out of her quest. Only then, Nikki realized the snoring had stopped, Zac was right behind her.
“Morning,” she smiled, “have you been nosing through my diary?”

“Hmm?” Sleepy Zac mumbled, wrapping his arms around his girl from behind, staring out at the snowy landscape. It was beautiful, but nowhere as gorgeous as the girl in front of him.

“Never mind.” Nikki replied. Zac didn’t even know she kept a diary, and even if he had found it –which was unlikely because he had not been in her room for over two minutes without her –he would not just open it. He wasn’t like that…

Story: Hairspray
Main characters: Zac & Nikki/ Zikki
Type of story: Oneshot
Words: 5,267
Rated: Pg 13 for sexual content
Plot: Zac & Nikki get stuck in the elevator of their hotel after the Rome premier/photocall of Hairspray.
A/N: I know technically Amanda & Elijah weren't there, but well, for the little bit they're in the story, you just gotta imagine they were there. 


What a day… Nikki thought as she stepped into the calm of an empty elevator, which would be taking her up to her lovely hotel room in the centre of Rome.
She had just returned from yet another busy, tiring Hairspray premier, but not at all did she care her life had been so filled lately, for it was full of things she had always been wanting to do.
First of all she had contributed to making ‘Hairspray’, which had been her biggest dream pretty much all her life.
Then there was the promo tour, on which she got to dance and sing even more, together with meeting fans, posing for pictures and of course, show them the movie she was so proud of, the movie she had put her heart and soul in.
And then, there was Zac… Zac Efron. Only just the thought of his name made Nikki’s smile widen. She knew for sure, he was the greatest person she’d ever meet. Her best friend, her soul mate… and her secret crush.

The girl let out a sigh full of held back passion as she thought about how last weeks had been absolutely amazing. Travelling around the globe, and sharing it with him.
Life was smiling at her for sure, she concluded, as her index finger hit the silver button, marked with a five, causing the doors to slowly close, as Nikki drifted off into a daze of happy thoughts and memories again, a big smile still steady on her face…

“Hold it!” a familiar voice startled Nikki from her daydreams.
She quickly looked up through the double doors, closing, and found him running towards her. Instantly she put her hand between the doors, and in respond they rolled open again, revealing Zac slowing down and stepping in with her.
He smiled, a genuine, wide smile, which had her melting down to the polished, marble elevator floor completely the instant she saw it. He looked too good.

“Thanks for leaving me behind,” he joked, flipping his hair as he glared at her during the movement.
It took Nikki a few seconds to respond, for she was taken with the hair flip for a moment. How could he possibly have done it in front of her a million times before and still manage to make it look hot?
“Uh… Well… You were talking to Adam so I thought…” she paused midst her reply, why did her mind freeze on moments like this? Why did she always have to give the impression of a retard when Zac asked her the most normal, banal, everyday things? “Uhh…”

The elevator doors closed with a light thud, giving Nikki an excuse to look away from Zac’s azure blue eyes, that were seeming to sneak into her again, just like every time she looked into them, and pretend to be interested in the elevator starting to move.

“So, what are the plans for the rest of the day?” Zac smiled, not taking his eyes off of his co-star for even a second, therefore not always on the same place.
As he waited for Nikki to respond, his uncontrollable peepers roamed down, to Nikki’s cleavage, where her mighty fine developed chest was crying out for his attention. Had been all day…

“Just… watching a movie or so, take a bath maybe. Something relaxing,” the little brunette replied, looking up to Zac again. She grinned a little as she took in his expression.
He was smiling, and trough his perfect white teeth, the tip of his tongue peeked, unwittingly licking his lips at the moment she faced him.
Nikki suppressed a giggle. He was so cute when he did that, even though he didn’t know he was doing it, especially because he didn’t know he was doing it.

 

“Sounds nice…” Zac said in reply, turning away from Nikki and staring around the elevator awkwardly. Had she just said ‘take a bath’? How could he still control his thoughts now?
A bath… Damn, what he’d give to get in that same bath with her.
His roguish smile changed into a cheeky, dreamy grin as he looked back at Nikki, who smiled back at him, on a friendly yet totally platonic way.
The boy cleared his throat, suddenly embarrassed for the wave of thoughts wandering through his mind, like he could help them the littlest bit at all.

Suddenly, the elevator came to a stop, way sooner than any of both had expected.
Damn, time sure flew by when spending time with Zac, Nikki thought, setting a few steps forward, awaiting the doors to roll open.

Zac, on the other hand, patiently stood standing where he was, looking the elevator up and down frowning. That moment, Nikki turned to face him, her face expression questioning. “Why aren’t the doors opening?”

“Because we’re not there yet,” the guy answered, with an almost intolerable calm tone of voice, as he was still looking around the elevator, his face giving away some confusion.

“Then why did the elevator stop?” Nikki murmured, more just wondering out loud than asking Zac for an explanation.

As an answer to that, her co-star stopped looking around to glare at her, “I think we’re stuck,” he announced deliberately, yet completely calm.

“What?” Nikki exclaimed in disbelief, pressing the button five a few times again, then, as there was no reaction, the others. “We can’t be stuck!”

“Well, we are,” Zac contradicted her, looking around the elevator one last time before he stepped closer to Nikki, he was sure now, he was right, they were undeniably stuck.

“How can you be so laid-back about this?” Nikki snapped in a high, pitchy voice. To her surprise the reaction she got from Zac, was a simple smile. How could he be so calm while they were both stuck in an elevator? A tiny, square, metal box with a marble floor and a mirror!

“Don’t worry Nik, they’ll have us out of here in no-time,” the guy replied, still as calm as ever, as he pulled open the little metal box in the wall, and got out a black phone.
In complete control of his behavior –unlike Nikki, who had started pacing around panicky –he dialed the number on the sticker inside of the box, and patiently waited to get someone on the other side of the line.

_ _

“And? What did they say?” Nikki hissed desperately, as she watched how Zac put the phone back into its box after hanging up. He sighed, looking at Nikki seriously, not too happy about what he had to answer either. “It’s gonna take a while…”

Nikki’s face deformed in disgust. She hated this now already. First of all, she was a bit claustrophobic, and second, her entire childhood she had feared to get stuck in an elevator. Either that or being locked in the bathroom. The normal childhood fears. She thought she’d quite grown over them now, but now here she was, stuck and anything but comfortable in the situation. The only positive thing about it was that Zac was here also. “How long?”

“Two hours at least. There’s been a short circuit and some electrodes are damaged,” he answered, as he let himself slide down to the ground, now also displaying unwillingness to the next two hours. He stretched out his legs and sighed a little, looking up at Nikki.

The girl shook her head sadly, at this moment deciding she’d just take the stairs from now on. “I hate elevators,” she murmured, sitting down next to Zac slowly, “I really hate them.”

_ _

Zac sighed, was it just him or had the air conditioning stalled? Fact was, it had suddenly started to get way, way hotter in that square little box.
He grabbed the black tie around his neck and used it to his advantage, waving himself some fresh air. Too bad there wasn’t any.

He looked beside him, where Nikki was sitting, looking warm herself as well, and spotted the mirror behind her, slowly steaming up. He sighed again and threw off his jacket, then started to undo his tie. “Urgh, I’m not standing this much longer,” he groaned, putting the tie down beside him, to find Nikki glaring at him.

The girl gulped, as she found her best friend then rolling up his sleeves and unbuttoning a button or three on his shirt. She wasn’t sure she could stand this much longer either, but she wasn’t talking about the heat, she was talking about another hotness, undressing right beside her.
Damn, he looks fine, Nikki thought as she glared down her co-star’s toned chest, revealed by his shirt, hanging half open temptingly. It was only as she heard his voice mumbling in the background, that she could bring her peepers up to his eye-level. “Huh?”

“How long still?” Zac repeated his question, unbuttoning yet another button.

Nikki checked her watch, trying not to get distracted by the new part of muscled upper body that was bared by Zac’s last movement. “An hour and twenty-five minutes…”
Zac groaned, it really was hot in here. 

“What ever happened to the air conditioning?” Nikki wondered, now also giving in to the warmth taking over the stuck elevator.

“I have no idea, but I don’t like it,” her best friend responded, attempting to wave himself some more fresh air, using his hand this time.

“Oh, I hate elevators!” Nikki repeated moaning, for the at least tenth time that day. Saying that, she removed her short, brown jacket, inhaling deeply, and then kicking her heels off.

“Me t…” Zac was stopped in the middle of his sentence, as he noticed the girl next to him willingly undressing. Oh well, willingly wasn’t the right word, but a guy could dream, right?

She turned to look at Zac, as the guy stopped mid sentence. “You…?” She questioned, rolling up her brown dotted dress to her knees.

“Me… too…” her co-star uttered, as his tongue automatically reached to lick his lower lip again, the effect she and her legs were currently having on him. More…

_ _

“I can’t endure this for another fifty minutes!” Nikki sighed, leaning her head against the wall slightly. She looked up at Zac as he grabbed her wrist and checked her shiny, silver watch himself. He sighed as well, “fifty-two minutes to be exact.”
As he said that, he let go of Nikki and moved his hand over to his shirt again, unbuttoning the final two buttons, causing his co-star to get full view on a trained, rock-hard looking abs, with grey Calvin Klein boxers covering the lower part of them, peeking above his brown trousers.

Nikki bit her lip, just managing to hold back a smile. He looked mighty fine. So fine she started feeling even warmer, as she made clear, sighing and waving herself some air.

 “Are you okay?” Zac asked, turning back to her, and in the process sneaking a quick look down her cleavage before looking up to her face. He just couldn’t help himself, and for the second time in just seconds, his eyes were drawn down again, refusing to move away.

“I’m so warm.” Nikki moaned, oblivious to Zac’s staring, as she looked down to roll her dress up a little more.

You’re not warm, you’re hot! It ran through the boy’s mind, as his sly peepers wandered from Nikki’s full cleavage to the end of her dress, revealing a tiny bit of upper leg.
A smile took over his face, and for a few seconds the inch of newly revealed skin was the only thing he could see, could focus on. He was so focused, he wasn’t even conscious to the rest of his body’s doing. All he could think of was seeing more. More leg, more boob, more curves, more Nikki.
As he was taken by that thought, his right hand, seemed to get its own will, and slowly moved over to his co-star’s leg. Once there, his fingers moved over to the textile of her dotted dress, and slid the article of clothing up higher, as Nikki gasped, unable to grasp what was going on. All she knew was that where Zac’s hand had touched her, a hot spot was left behind, burning like a fire in comparison to the rest of her already overheated body.

This gasp startled the boy from his thoughts, and made him realize the current position of his hand, on her left thigh, out of his range of vision, for it was fondling the soft skin underneath Nikki’s already high slid up dress.

His eyes widened in shock and apology, and he pulled his hand back abruptly, uttering in embarrassment. “I… uhh… I… I thought… that would be a little cooler… for you…?”
Urgh, he could’ve hit himself over the head! Had the heat gone to his brains and made them melt or something? What the hell was he thinking to do this? Exactly, he wasn’t thinking.

Nikki could only nod, for her body seemed suddenly numb. She couldn’t feel her thigh anymore, like it had just burnt away at Zac’s touch.
It took her a minute of silence, before she got her feeling back, in the shape of little tingles, running all over her thigh, repeating what her co-star had just done, only less provocative, less titillating.

“I’m sorry…” Zac suddenly spoke, breaking the silence, as he had decently come to his senses again. It was only as Nikki heard him and looked up, she noticed he wasn’t sitting next to her anymore, but stood on the other side of the elevator, watching her cautiously.  “The heat is getting to me. I didn’t mean to…”

“Don’t be sorry,” Nikki interrupted him, placing her hands beside her to push herself upright again. After she did, she slowly walked over to Zac, a little, reassuring smile on her face. She could see the heat was getting to him. His face looked a little wet, and his hair was messy and sweaty, but that didn’t make him any less attractive. On the contrary, his transpiring chest charmed her, a lot.

Zac watched her walking his way, but it was like the heat had made him see in tunnel vision. And even though it was against his principles, he couldn’t complain, the view in the tunnel was great, beyond great even. All he could see approaching him, was a cleavage, filled with the greatest material god had ever created, material he couldn’t wait to get his hands on! Damn!
He swallowed and then blinked a few times, trying to change his point of view, vainly…

This time, Nikki wasn’t blind to the boy’s gawking, and though she was a little shocked at his sudden obviousness, she let a cheeky grin take over her face. He looked so irresistibly hot, in both ways of the word, and a sudden longing to touch took over her.

It didn’t matter where, she just needed to release this burning feeling in her hands, in her fingertips, in her entire body actually. Unable to control her own doing, she raised her hand, to run her digits trough Zac’s dirty blonde, sweaty hair, making it even more messy.

Thereupon she slid her hand down to his neck, and what happened next, was just one big mess of feelings, heated feelings, bottled up feelings, hidden feelings, feelings held back for months, a year even!

Zac pressed his hands onto Nikki’s breasts, squeezing them lightly, as his lips attached to her pair, for only a few seconds, before his tongue started to explore them, her wonderful, voluminous lips. They kind of tasted like a candy he couldn’t describe, for he had never eaten candy this delicious.

Nikki’s hands then, flew to Zac’s shoulders, and pushed off the light, white and sweaty shirt, stripping him to the waist, as she at the same time opened her mouth to give his tongue access to it, feeling it explore every bend and corner, until it eventually greeted hers and started a passionate bout of tongue wrestling.

Midst the kiss, Nikki opened up her eyes, not enjoying the pleasure of the kiss even a tad bit less, and eyed up Zac’s chest, screaming to be touched.
Not even thinking about what do to, she gave in to the burning feeling in her finger tips and ran them over his toned abs, stirring up a moan with Zac.

The boy’s hands moved over to the end of Nikki’s dress, as his lips took over their task of indulging Nikki’s breasts, kissing all over her cleavage, in pure hunger and lust. The fact he had to bend through his knees a little to reach them, could only add to the fun and thrill of this.
Now it wasn’t just the heat anymore, it was like Nikki was giving herself to him entirely, and he was fully going to take advantage of it, as her body language spoke her approval.
He slid up her dress again-which had fallen back down to its original length as soon as Nikki had gotten up –to reveal her thighs, the pleasant yet teasing view of her black briefs following.

Nikki’s one hand applied itself to running through Zac’s hair in a sensual, voluptuous way, as her other one was still fully dedicated to indulging his muscled, rock-hard upper body, which was falling up and down rapidly, as his breathing was, just like Nikki’s, heavy and fast.

Zac, in the meanwhile, slid up Nikki’s dress up higher, getting full view on her inciting love handles. He pulled back from her chest and moved his lips, curled up into a wide grin, over to them, kissing them lovingly, and bringing those kisses up higher and higher, as he went along with the end of Nikki’s dress, which got rolled up slowly yet goading by his hands, shaking at the thrill of this. Oh, how he loved those curves!

Nikki’s hands were now both occupied running through the guy’s dirty blond head of hair teasingly, the nerves and lust screeching trough her body.
“Hmm… Zac!” She moaned, her eyes closed in pleasure, her mouth formed into a satisfied smile. Damn, he knew which buttons to push!

Bull’s eye! Zac’s grin grew if possible even wider as he heard her moan his name. It stirred his senses… and his testosterone. The hormones rushed through his body, taking over his thoughts and actions. Before he was even aware to his doing, the brown dotted dress had left Nikki’s body, lying useless on the shiny marble floor.

Zac pulled back from kissing his co-star and eyed her up and down curiously, as he raised himself up again, leaning in to head for Nikki’s lips, murmuring what had been in his head all along, “You’re so, so beautiful…”

Nikki’s smile went from an exited to a flattered one, right before her lips met Zac’s and she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, never wanting to let go of him again.
In a daze of eager and happy feelings, she sucked his lower lip longingly.

In between the reunification of their lips, the girl could feel a titillating movement over her back, two fingers running over it, and all of a sudden, the fabric of her black bra loosened, as in time, Zac’s lips formed into a pleased grin again.

Nikki giggled, the sound of it somewhat subdued by Zac’s mouth attached to hers, and moved her little hands over to his abs, in the process letting them wander over his toned chest exploring. As she arrived at her target, she met up with one of Zac’s hands, already waiting for hers, to grab them both and drag them along, beneath his abs, beneath his waistline, and beneath the brim of his trousers. His breathing was getting unignorably heavy now, heavy and excited.

Nikki grinned, she understood his body language perfectly, and stroked her digits past the bulge in Zac’s pants, one by one, slowly and softly, he was not gonna get his pleasure that easily.  
The boy chuckled at her teasing, and focused on the one thing that was still in his mind right now –hey, it wasn’t his fault most of his blood had started streaming to his other head –and moved his eager hands over to her bra-straps, baring her shoulders hungrily, exposing what he had only been able to fantasize about until now –and oh, how he had fantasized… 

His eyes grew wider as world’s most precious treasures were revealed. His fantasies hadn’t done Nikki any justice, her breasts looked so much better in reality.
For the one second he could bring up the power to look away, he directed his eyes up, above him, with a blessed grin. Thank you!

Nikki grinned also, as she found her co-star looking back to her, his azure blue peepers grown darker with lust, a particular body part of him grown harder with lust, as her hands had become aware. She moved them both over to his trousers button, undoing his pants full of appetite, as she felt him placing warm, sucking kisses in her neck, slowly moving downwards. Nikki’s grin grew bigger, it was no secret where he was heading for.

She unzipped Zac’s brown trousers, just as his spoiling kisses reached their destination, pleasing both lovers. The material dropped to the guy’s ankles, resting there, awaiting to be kicked off. He moaned, as her fingers touched his most sensitive area throughout the action, and a sudden want to take the lead came over her. He was pleasing her so badly up there, the downside was all hers now.

Eagerly Nikki’s hands moved over to the Calvin Klein-marked brim of his grey boxers, slipping her two index fingers in and curling them around the elastic bond, pulling it away from Zac’s waist slowly, her eyes peeking inside, as she bit her lip cheekily, curiously.

An impressed gasp escaped her mouth, as the content of the grey textile got revealed. Damn! The corners of her mouth curled up into a pleased grin, as she slid the entire piece of clothing down, and let her hands explore this newly discovered body part.
A little uncertain her finger touched his tip, but soon she found the courage to curve her fingers around his full length and moved in what she hoped was the right way, as Zac tilted his head back in response, a scale of moans leaving his lips.

However, much time to please him, Nikki didn’t get, as midst-moan, Zac suddenly pulled her hands away, moving them over to her black briefs, as he rested both his on the cotton underwear as well, helping her get rid of it in a pace that was not too fast, neither too slow, but had just that tempo that raised both lovers to a next level of thrill and excitement.

The boy then kicked off his flip-flops, along with his trousers and boxers, finally realizing they were still there around his ankles, as his lips moved over to Nikki’s neck again, to let his tongue brush over her delicate skin softly, bringing his lips together to gently blow dry the trace he left.  
Nikki gasped at the ticklish contact of his tongue, and closed her eyes in pure pleasure. Oh, he was good! Too good to waste anymore of their precious time left.
She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer so rude, her hands must’ve left a red mark. “Inside…” She moaned, her fingers curling up against Zac’s back in pleasure, and at the same time frustration for his teasing, “I want you inside. Now.”

She could feel Zac’s lips forming into another grin against her skin, as she’d groaned her desires. She expected him to obey any second now, but instead of finally completing what both their bodies had been preparing for, he moved away. Away from her, taking the warmth of his kisses with him.

Nikki’s eyes snapped open in panic. Where did Zac go? In confusion, did she do anything wrong? Did she hurt him? Upset him? Offend him?
Suddenly out of her fuddle, she looked around, to find him facing away from her, holding up his trousers.
Oh, she screwed up, but how? What did she do to make this overindulgence stop? Her confusion grew only bigger, as Zac dropped his pants a second later and turned back around, putting his lips to hers fiercely, still that cheeky grin stuck on his face.

Throughout the kiss, Nikki smiled in relief, as her eyes met a glistening little object in his right hand. A wrapped up condom. Oof.
She closed her eyes again, Zac’s kissing getting her all back on her high again. Quickly her smile had turned back into a wide grin again, and her hands reached out for the condom, as she pulled back from the kiss, to whisper, “I’ll do it.”
Zac’s eyes opened abruptly to meet Nikki’s, and she could see his grin now reaching up to those hungry blue peepers, as he dropped the rubber into Nikki’s expectantly held out hand. 

Carefully, yet trying to be fast, Nikki ripped off the wrapper, and pinched the top of it lightly, before gently rolling it down Zac’s erection, in a way that made the boy yet again reach a new stage of eagerness, as he tried to suppress a load moan. Now that didn’t work out.
Nikki giggled, both at what her hands brought about with her co-star, as well as at the thought that had suddenly invaded her mind. What had he been thinking to bring a condom? He must’ve been feeling the eager, the need, the sexual tension just as well as she had, he must’ve been wanting her as bad as she’d been wanting him.

The second her hands left, Zac got hold of Nikki’s upper arms, and pushed her against the wall of the elevator, kissing her all over with his mouth opened wide, in the need for air, as he was panting heavily, just like her.
Nikki once again got hold of Zac’s dirty blond locks, now pulling them lightly in all her eager, as the boy went through his knees a little, and got her gasping in total pleasure as well as surprise, as he suddenly thrusted inside of her, letting out a gasp as well, and Nikki could feel his warm breath against her skin.

She leaned her head back against the wall, as she closed her eyes, moaning his name softly, “Oh Zac.” She couldn’t help it, she was so caught up in the effects the movements on that one juncture, between the both of them, had on her.

A feeling of pride rushed through Zac as he heard Nikki moan his name again. To him, it was the best sound he had ever heard, easily beating out every kind of music. This sound caused an addiction on him, he needed to hear her moan his name again, and again, and again… As many times as he possibly could, and he eagerly started nibbling her earlobe, as he sped up the pace a little.

_ _

“Oooh… Oh Zachary… David… Alexander Efron!” Nikki cried out in total bliss, unwittingly digging her nails into Zac’s back, as an indescribable feeling took hold of her. For a few seconds, she was totally oblivious for the world around her, and for the following few seconds pretty much too.

The boy grinned at his name being chanted, vaguely aware of Nikki’s body contracting and releasing around his still hardened pride, as his own climax took over, his orgasm exploding inside of him and providing him of a heavenly, glorious feeling, as a loud moan escaped his lips, and he, after a few first second wherein he tried to catch his breath, slowly pulled back.

For about a minute, the two just stood there, unmoving, as their breathing gradually started slowing down again, and the just happened events sunk in.
Nikki swallowed, she had totally lost it! Sex in an elevator with Zac Efron? Her best friend? Her soul mate? Her crush? Nevertheless a feeling of victory was currently passing through her, she couldn’t help but worry. What if after this, she could never look at him again without remembering this elevator-adventure in total awkwardness?
Her heart, which had just started to calm down after the passionate lovemaking, started to beat faster again. What if this would cost her her friendship with Zac?

“Zac…?” She murmured, still lost in thoughts and worry, her gaze glassy.
“Hmm?” The boy mumbled, staring at her intently. He leaned a bit closer to her, to peck her forehead lovingly.
The kiss, even if it was just on her forehead, surprised Nikki, and a new smile formed on her face, making her adapt her question at the very last moment. “Do you feel bad… about what just happened?”
Zac frowned, confused by her question. “No, not at all. Why? Do You?” He moved his hand over to her dark brown, now messy hair, and stroked through it gently, still relishing the memory of what had just happened, hoping she didn’t feel differently about this.
Nikki’s eyes widened in happiness. He didn’t? So that meant he liked it? “No, of course I don’t. Are you being serious?”
Zac smiled, cupping her cheek. “Yea, no regrets.”
Suddenly, his smiled turned into sheer panic, and his jaw dropped, as his eyes crossed Nikki’s watch. “Shit!”

“What’s wrong?” Nikki asked in confusion, a little sad about the moment ending, as she had just started savoring it again.
“Our two hours are over. Way over even!” Her co-star responded, turning around in the search for his Calvin Klein boxers, throwing Nikki’s bra as he bumped into it in the middle of his quest.

Nikki gasped, feeling the panic bubbling up also, as she checked her watch, and found Zac was right. The elevator could’ve been fixed almost ten minutes ago!

_ _

“Diiiiiing!” The heavy elevator doors rolled open, and Nikki hurriedly combed her fingers through her still sweaty hair once again, in an attempt to look casual. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zac staring at her, a satisfied smirk on his face.

“Oh my god! Nikki! Zac! Finally! We’ve been so worried about you guys!” A familiar voice echoed through the entire hall, and both Zac and Nikki turned forward, to face their friends and co-stars Amanda and Elijah.

The two secret lovers stepped out of the elevator, and immediately got hugged by the obviously most worried of their friends, Amanda, who started babbling unintelligibly fast, that Zac and Nikki could only make out a few words like “elevator”, “technicians” and “so long” out of it.

Elijah luckily, was a little calmer, and patted his co-stars both on the shoulder, “Are you guys okay? What did you do for such a long time in an elevator?”

“Well, uhh… You know, the usual.” Nikki said, not managing to control a blissful grin taking over her face as she thought back to the elevator’s events, causing Elijah and Amanda to raise their eyebrows in suspicion.
“Discuss movies.” Zac nodded, turning to Nikki with a smile also on his face. “We arranged to watch one in my room tonight, isn’t it Nik?” He questioned, inconspicuously giving the girl one of his oh so irresistible winks.

Nikki didn’t miss this, the signal that nearly made her melt, and her grin grew if possible even bigger, “We did. I’ll absolutely be there.” Oh, what a night this was going to be…  

If you liked it, please leave a comment. =) <3