FicWad

Disclaimer: It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or the cast or their related stuff. Also, though this story involves the names of real people, it is a complete work of fiction in terms of characterization and plot.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9 - The Start of Something New

"Cut! And can we have that one more time from the top!" Kenny's voice boomed through the megaphone.

On his knees on the stage set, Zac stopped tapping his toes and slumped his shoulders forward. Glancing over at Vanessa sitting at the nearby table, he smiled tentatively. Realizing he had her eye, he suddenly leaned over and whispered. "I feel like an idiot."

She smiled and pushed her hair out of her face, but didn't respond.

OK, fine.

All week he had been trying to talk to her again, trying to restart their friendship in any way he could. But she had been shy around him since... their talk. Lucas and Monique had been good at helping her stay away from him too. Then there was Ashley, who seemed hell bent on exploring the city with him in tow. And he couldn't tell her that he was trying again-she'd seemed so concerned about Vanessa and the drama and all.

So actually he'd had hardly any time to find out where Nessa was, let alone talk to her. But he had some tricks up his sleeve. For instance, it was pretty hard to avoid a guy who happened to be playing your love interest in a movie.

And I'm not going to stop trying to talk to her.

He looked over again to see if she was looking at him, and realized that she was whispering something.

"What?" he said, squinting at her.

"She's saying pay attention, Zac, you're taking up precious time making puppy dog eyes," said Kenny's magnified voice dryly. "So that's one more time from the top. If you're not too busy."

Flushing red, he looked out at Kenny sheepishly. "Sorry."

But he could hear her laughing, softly.

Well-every dark cloud has a silver lining.

He grinned, starting to tap his toes again.

-----------------------------------

"What on earth is this play going to be about anyway?

Sitting in the auditorium's fifth row, Lucas let out his question in a burst, sounding genuinely puzzled. Monique rolled her eyes. They had already shot the Darbus detention scenes on the stage set and were restlessly waiting for Zac and Vanessa to finish. "What now, Lucas?" she said.

"Well, I don't know," he said, shifting in his seat. "Like, there's this giant moon prop coming down from the top. Zac's painting some boxes. There's a tree you can climb and sit on. And of course, the camel with sunglasses."

He looked at Monique skeptically. "And it's called Twinkle Towne?"

"I don't know," said Monique, shrugging. Suddenly she snickered. "Maybe Kelsi just got really high one night and got /inspired/."

She put out her hands like a jazz dancer, shaking them dramatically. Lucas laughed and suddenly they both collapsed into giggles.

Kenny's voice boomed. "Quiet on set, please!"

Monique clapped a hand over her mouth, still smiling. "Oops."

Another voice suddenly cut in quietly. "Hey, there you guys are."

Carrying a muffin from the craft services table, Corbin slipped into the seat beside Lucas. He took a bite and looked up at the stage, where Zac was still tapping away. He looked back at them quizzically. "Are we still shooting this?"

"Well, it's a pretty crucial scene," said Lucas.

"The whole movie practically hinges on it," said Monique, nodding seriously.

Corbin laughed through a mouthful of muffin. "Right. I forgot."

He chewed thoughtfully as Zac and Vanessa ran through the scene for a fifth time. Bobbing his head, Zac looked over at Vanessa with a palpable interest. Vanessa was looking back and smiling, a teasing look on her face as she tapped her toes under the table.

Suddenly, Monique breathed out a wistful sigh. "Ohhh." She put her hands over her face. "You know, it's too bad they're not together. They make such a cute couple."

Lucas patted her arm. "Don't get swept away by the toe tapping."

"I don't know. I can't help it. I'm a sucker for romance." Monique laughed. "I just think they're cute together. What's wrong with that?"

"Dude." Lucas shook his head, smiling. "It would never work out! You know he's no good for her. Just give it up."

Suddenly Corbin laughed. "Man, I don't know what Nessa does but it must be something else. You and Zac have it bad for that girl. I feel like I'm missing out somehow."

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "I have it bad for her?" He laughed. "No, man. I'm not into her. I have a beautiful girlfriend waiting for me back in L.A. and could not ask for anything more." He looked over at Monique warningly. "And yeah, I know she can't hear me, but you never know."

But Corbin gave him a sideways look. "Seriously, you're not into her?"

"No, Corbin, of course not," said Lucas, smiling. "We're just friends."

"And Lucas just likes hanging out with girls all the time." Monique laughed as Lucas elbowed her.

Corbin smiled apologetically. "Well, sorry. My mistake." He took another bite of muffin. "I guess it just kind of looked like it with that whole tug of war thing last week."

Monique sighed. "See." She nudged Lucas in the ribs. "That was just Lucas's clever way of telling Vanessa he had to talk to her."

"I regret nothing." Lucas folded his arms. "It was important. And Nessa needed to know."

"What was it, then?" said Corbin, curious. He put his palms up in the air. "If you don't mind me asking."

For a second, Lucas hesitated, flicking a look over at Monique, then shrugged and leaned over to Corbin. "Well, we found out that Zac's on the rebound from his girlfriend," he whispered. "So he was going after Nessa as a... distraction before he went back to her at home."

He settled back in his seat. "Anyway, he did the right thing and broke up with her right away. Good timing too. Apparently they just went out on a date the night before. It would have been pretty devastating if they'd gotten really serious."

"Wow." Corbin shook his head. "I didn't know that at all. Actually, I thought it was Nessa who was playing him around, after all that drama. I think he did too-thought that was why he broke it off."

"No," said Lucas absently. "It was all Zac. Nessa couldn't hurt a fly."

Corbin finished the last bite of his muffin and laughed. "Yeah, I don't know. Don't judge a book by its cover, right." He crumpled the wrapper. "So who'd he break up with?"

"Oh, Danielle Panabaker," said Lucas. "Ashley told me."

A thoughtful look passed over Corbin's face. "Danielle Panabaker?"

Maybe the muffin wasn't agreeing with him. Because something suddenly didn't feel right.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note: So what's Corbin thinking? Or was it just a bad batch of muffins? Ha ha ha...