"Who Better To Love" ch. 1
Zac & Nikki: Who Better To Love ch. 1
A Spoonful of Sugar
Theme: A fictionalized account of the relationship between Zac Efron and Nikki Blonsky, based on a reasonable number of real facts and an abundance of my wishful thinking.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, as they are real people, and that would be a Human Rights violation. But wishing I owned them: totally okay, and really quite natural!
Dedication: This series is dedicated to the wonderful girls at FF, whose amazing work has inspired me to write, and to Jenny, Tracy, and Heather, who joined in my plot ramblings on MSN!
So, this is really just an introduction to a series I am trying. I’m just setting the “characters” up here, and establishing how I see their relationship developing. I hope you like it enough to stick with me!
Chapter 1: A Spoonful of Sugar
“Mary Poppins?” he laughed at her, as she handed him the DVD. “Nik, you’re kidding me! Are you seriously going to make me watch this?”
“What? You said to get my favourite-ever movie. But, if you don’t…”
Zac turned and looked at her, and saw the embarrassment beginning to show on her face. He immediately did his best to hold his laughter inside. “No, it’s okay! I was just teasing! I love this movie, too!”
Nikki looked up at him, and knew that he was trying hard not to start laughing again. But she also knew that he wasn’t laughing to be hurtful; she had heard and seen that kind of laughter enough to know the difference. So she smacked him on the arm and giggled with him. He pretended to be wounded and fell back on his couch, then patted the seat next to him. She plunked herself down in her usual spot, as she had done so many times before. But this was the first time that it was just the two of them for a movie night.
It had been about two months since they had met. He had heard great things about this “discovery” while he was still auditioning for “Hairspray” in L.A., but really didn’t know what to expect. Their brief meeting in L.A. had intrigued him. After the first day he spent with her in rehearsals in Toronto, he knew he had met someone special. She had a light about her that drew him in; a voice that stunned him; and a perseverance that inspired him. He had thought he would be able to teach her a few things, as she had never done a film before, but he quickly found himself watching her while she was dancing, or singing, or acting out a scene. And, sometimes, in those early days, when she was just laughing with Elijah, or talking to Adam, or sitting on the floor with her eyes closed for a quiet moment, his blue eyes found a way to seek her out.
They always had something to say and something to laugh about. There was never a moment of awkwardness between them from the day they met till this humid late-August evening. Nikki could listen to Zac talk about surfing and video games and skateboarding for hours; she loved to see him become so
excited and animated when he acted out his favourite maneuvers. Zac would ask Nikki to tell him about her school productions of “Sweeney Todd” and “Les Miserables,” and even made her ask her dad to mail a video of her performance in “Carmen.” He would laugh at her fixation with “Will & Grace,” and she would
tease him about his hair, which he had just had cut and dyed black for the movie, and how he would try to act cool, like it hadn’t completely killed him to do it.
There were hundreds of people involved in the rehearsals for “Hairspray,” and they hung out all the time with the younger cast and the dancers. Finding a mutual love of baseball gave Zac a chance to spend some Saturday afternoons alone with Nikki. She was beginning to treasure their occasional dinners out, trips to the mall, and sight-seeing expeditions around Toronto, just the two of them. With so many kids their age around, any quiet time they found to spend together was becoming very special to them both.
“Hey, I’ll grab some chips. And I’ve got iced tea, or Coke.”
“I can’t believe you. You eat brown rice and tofu, and then you’ll eat chips or a milk shake or something!”
“Well, balance is everything, Baby!” he winked at her, and she rolled her eyes, but then giggled softly at his calling her “Baby” when his back was turned.
“I’m just gonna call my mom and tell her that we grabbed dinner on the way home from rehearsals, or she’ll call me to see where I am and have I eaten, and do I need a sweater or a diaper change, and interrupt the movie!”
“No prob,” he laughed, as he returned to the couch with a big bag of chips and two cans of Coke.
Zac’s apartment was just down the hall from the two-bedroom apartment that Nikki shared with her mom, Karen. The whole cast and production team had taken up residence in the downtown Toronto hotel. Living and working together everyday had already created a tight bond amongst this “Hairspray” family, and their closeness was helping everyone get through their homesickness and how badly they were missing their families and friends back home.
Nikki’s mom was so friendly and caring, and funny and silly, that you couldn’t help but love her right away. She was there to look out for her daughter, but she also saw herself as second mom to any of the young cast members or dancers that needed her. Zac had never been away from home for a movie without his own mom before. He, like Nikki, had just graduated from High School in June, and Karen felt that he still needed a parent in his life. As respectful and appreciative as Zac was towards her, she was happy to be there for him any time he asked, and even when he didn’t.
“So I’ll be home in a couple of hours. No, I told you we ate, we don’t need anything!” Nikki said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at Zac. “Yah, I will. Thanks, Mom. Bye.” and she closed her phone.
“Sometimes I wish I was 18 and could be here on my own like you.”
He just smiled at her, as a flash of them alone in a hotel, with no mom down the hall, and the surprising feeling of butterflies in his stomach, distracted him from being able to say anything.
He got up from the couch to put in the DVD, and she opened her can of Coke. When he sat back down beside her, she gave him a smile that could light up a room, and flashed her deep chocolate eyes at him. He became keenly aware that his knee was touching her thigh, and a purple bra strap was exposed
where her tank top had begun to slip off her shoulder. His eyes drifted lower, to the soft curves of her cleavage. His hand moved slightly, just grazing hers, pinkie finger to pinkie finger, and the feeling was electric. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and images, and the seconds felt like hours.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave tomorrow. You’re going to miss Sunday dinner. Mom’s making pot roast.”
Zac’s eyes snapped back up to her face as he remembered: flying to LA, the Teen Choice Awards, High School Musical, and Vanessa.
Clarity. Reality.
“Nikki, I need to tell you something. Well, I don’t need to, but I want to, because I know that I can trust you.” He paused, and looked down before turning to face her again. “You know Vanessa?” and Nikki nodded. “Um, she’s my girlfriend. We’ve been going out almost a year. We don’t really tell anyone, except close friends. We’re trying to keep it private.” He looked at her, waiting for a response.
She just said, “Oh. I didn’t know that. Well, that’s good.”
“Yah, I haven’t told anyone else here yet.” Looking down again, he softly added, “But, I just, I wanted you to know.”
Not yet knowing just how talented an actress Nikki was, he hadn’t noticed the flash of surprise and hurt in her eyes before she cheerfully answered him.
“So, let’s get this movie started.” he said, after a moment. “I can’t believe you’re getting me to watch ‘Mary Poppins,’” he laughed, as he pressed play on the remote. “But, you’re a pretty special girl, Nicole Blonsky! I think you could do anything.”
That, and the arm stretching across her shoulders, helped make the medicine go down. Just a little.
TBC
Theme: A fictionalized account of the relationship between Zac Efron and Nikki Blonsky, based on a reasonable number of real facts and an abundance of my wishful thinking.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, as they are real people, and that would be a Human Rights violation. But wishing I owned them: totally okay, and really quite natural!
Dedication: This series is dedicated to the wonderful girls at FF, whose amazing work has inspired me to write, and to Jenny, Tracy, and Heather, who joined in my plot ramblings on MSN!
So, this is really just an introduction to a series I am trying. I’m just setting the “characters” up here, and establishing how I see their relationship developing. I hope you like it enough to stick with me!
Chapter 1: A Spoonful of Sugar
“Mary Poppins?” he laughed at her, as she handed him the DVD. “Nik, you’re kidding me! Are you seriously going to make me watch this?”
“What? You said to get my favourite-ever movie. But, if you don’t…”
Zac turned and looked at her, and saw the embarrassment beginning to show on her face. He immediately did his best to hold his laughter inside. “No, it’s okay! I was just teasing! I love this movie, too!”
Nikki looked up at him, and knew that he was trying hard not to start laughing again. But she also knew that he wasn’t laughing to be hurtful; she had heard and seen that kind of laughter enough to know the difference. So she smacked him on the arm and giggled with him. He pretended to be wounded and fell back on his couch, then patted the seat next to him. She plunked herself down in her usual spot, as she had done so many times before. But this was the first time that it was just the two of them for a movie night.
It had been about two months since they had met. He had heard great things about this “discovery” while he was still auditioning for “Hairspray” in L.A., but really didn’t know what to expect. Their brief meeting in L.A. had intrigued him. After the first day he spent with her in rehearsals in Toronto, he knew he had met someone special. She had a light about her that drew him in; a voice that stunned him; and a perseverance that inspired him. He had thought he would be able to teach her a few things, as she had never done a film before, but he quickly found himself watching her while she was dancing, or singing, or acting out a scene. And, sometimes, in those early days, when she was just laughing with Elijah, or talking to Adam, or sitting on the floor with her eyes closed for a quiet moment, his blue eyes found a way to seek her out.
They always had something to say and something to laugh about. There was never a moment of awkwardness between them from the day they met till this humid late-August evening. Nikki could listen to Zac talk about surfing and video games and skateboarding for hours; she loved to see him become so
excited and animated when he acted out his favourite maneuvers. Zac would ask Nikki to tell him about her school productions of “Sweeney Todd” and “Les Miserables,” and even made her ask her dad to mail a video of her performance in “Carmen.” He would laugh at her fixation with “Will & Grace,” and she would
tease him about his hair, which he had just had cut and dyed black for the movie, and how he would try to act cool, like it hadn’t completely killed him to do it.
There were hundreds of people involved in the rehearsals for “Hairspray,” and they hung out all the time with the younger cast and the dancers. Finding a mutual love of baseball gave Zac a chance to spend some Saturday afternoons alone with Nikki. She was beginning to treasure their occasional dinners out, trips to the mall, and sight-seeing expeditions around Toronto, just the two of them. With so many kids their age around, any quiet time they found to spend together was becoming very special to them both.
“Hey, I’ll grab some chips. And I’ve got iced tea, or Coke.”
“I can’t believe you. You eat brown rice and tofu, and then you’ll eat chips or a milk shake or something!”
“Well, balance is everything, Baby!” he winked at her, and she rolled her eyes, but then giggled softly at his calling her “Baby” when his back was turned.
“I’m just gonna call my mom and tell her that we grabbed dinner on the way home from rehearsals, or she’ll call me to see where I am and have I eaten, and do I need a sweater or a diaper change, and interrupt the movie!”
“No prob,” he laughed, as he returned to the couch with a big bag of chips and two cans of Coke.
Zac’s apartment was just down the hall from the two-bedroom apartment that Nikki shared with her mom, Karen. The whole cast and production team had taken up residence in the downtown Toronto hotel. Living and working together everyday had already created a tight bond amongst this “Hairspray” family, and their closeness was helping everyone get through their homesickness and how badly they were missing their families and friends back home.
Nikki’s mom was so friendly and caring, and funny and silly, that you couldn’t help but love her right away. She was there to look out for her daughter, but she also saw herself as second mom to any of the young cast members or dancers that needed her. Zac had never been away from home for a movie without his own mom before. He, like Nikki, had just graduated from High School in June, and Karen felt that he still needed a parent in his life. As respectful and appreciative as Zac was towards her, she was happy to be there for him any time he asked, and even when he didn’t.
“So I’ll be home in a couple of hours. No, I told you we ate, we don’t need anything!” Nikki said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at Zac. “Yah, I will. Thanks, Mom. Bye.” and she closed her phone.
“Sometimes I wish I was 18 and could be here on my own like you.”
He just smiled at her, as a flash of them alone in a hotel, with no mom down the hall, and the surprising feeling of butterflies in his stomach, distracted him from being able to say anything.
He got up from the couch to put in the DVD, and she opened her can of Coke. When he sat back down beside her, she gave him a smile that could light up a room, and flashed her deep chocolate eyes at him. He became keenly aware that his knee was touching her thigh, and a purple bra strap was exposed
where her tank top had begun to slip off her shoulder. His eyes drifted lower, to the soft curves of her cleavage. His hand moved slightly, just grazing hers, pinkie finger to pinkie finger, and the feeling was electric. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and images, and the seconds felt like hours.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave tomorrow. You’re going to miss Sunday dinner. Mom’s making pot roast.”
Zac’s eyes snapped back up to her face as he remembered: flying to LA, the Teen Choice Awards, High School Musical, and Vanessa.
Clarity. Reality.
“Nikki, I need to tell you something. Well, I don’t need to, but I want to, because I know that I can trust you.” He paused, and looked down before turning to face her again. “You know Vanessa?” and Nikki nodded. “Um, she’s my girlfriend. We’ve been going out almost a year. We don’t really tell anyone, except close friends. We’re trying to keep it private.” He looked at her, waiting for a response.
She just said, “Oh. I didn’t know that. Well, that’s good.”
“Yah, I haven’t told anyone else here yet.” Looking down again, he softly added, “But, I just, I wanted you to know.”
Not yet knowing just how talented an actress Nikki was, he hadn’t noticed the flash of surprise and hurt in her eyes before she cheerfully answered him.
“So, let’s get this movie started.” he said, after a moment. “I can’t believe you’re getting me to watch ‘Mary Poppins,’” he laughed, as he pressed play on the remote. “But, you’re a pretty special girl, Nicole Blonsky! I think you could do anything.”
That, and the arm stretching across her shoulders, helped make the medicine go down. Just a little.
TBC