LIGHTS, CAMERA, ZACTION! [Duskford]

Author’s Note: this story doesn’t have any continuity ties or connections whatsoever to the Homecoming story, it’s a different thread.

Prologue

The sounds from the music echoed through the night that Friday, energizing the group of senior high schoolers inside. Despite the high levels of energy inside, nothing more than noise could be heard from outside as the metallic-red electric sedan pulled over, its driver miraculously finding an empty spot amongst his classmates’ vehicles. Zachary Bishop ran a hand through his short, kind of spiky, dark-brown hair as his icy-blue eyes peered at the Woodsens’ nice, upper-middle class home in the Oceanic Bay neighborhood.

“Seems to have already started,” he pointed out, briefly glancing at his cousin in the passenger seat. “You sure Donna won’t mind you being here?”

“She and Chelsea put up a bit of a fight when me and the other girls said we wanted to come,” Lydia Spade sighed, her gray eyes blinking once. She was wearing a nice orange summer dress in a pastel tone that modestly covered her medium-sized chest, and her wavy light-brown hair fell down her shoulders. “This party’s gonna be so fun, though. Donna’s the only one who has a problem with the cheerleaders.”

“As long as she doesn’t rib me for coming too,” Zachary chuckled. His cousin was in the school’s dance team, whose captain, Donna Morrison, had a bit of a rivalry with the cheer captain, Heather Ravers. Donna had argued that Lydia was going to a cheer squad party in the house of a cheerleader, so it was basically fraternizing with the enemy.

“She has a soft spot for you, don’t worry,” it was Lydia’s turn to laugh. “The real shame was Chloe.”

“Yeah, but she still has a bit of a hard time in places like this, so it can’t be helped for now. You saw how she was at the Homecoming Dance,” he regretfully shrugged, referring to his best friend. “Well, wanna go in? Are any of your friends already here?”

“Oh, yeah, Maya just texted to let me know she’s here,” Lydia grinned and they exited the car.

While Lydia went inside, Zachary came to a stop on the sidewalk to gaze at his classmates mingling on the porch, just making some small talk. He had missed Sunset Haven during the seven years he lived away, having only returned during the previous summer a few months ago. Ever since he returned to his hometown, the young man found himself rekindling old friendships, making some new ones, and even got to know a distant cousin he had no idea of. Said cousin was the one responsible for inviting him to this party, being a part of quite possibly the most popular clique in the school. Plus, the girl who actually lived there was one of the old friends he got to reunite with, so it all aligned.

He had a lean-muscled build, mostly from helping at the family ranch, and was wearing a button-up red shirt with blue jeans. A small smile on his face, he moved to join the party.

Zachary, or Zack, as his friends usually called him, which he preferred, mingled with the other teenagers for several minutes, chatting and laughing with them while strategically avoiding the makeshift dancefloor in the living room. At some point, he found himself walking toward the den, a cozy, mildly-lit room where his distant cousin and his friends were holding court, so to speak. Zachary enjoyed the slightly subsided atmosphere there more than the rest of the party.

“So, I think it’s fair to ask,” said the handsome young man distantly related to him, Logan Ravers. A cute blonde girl was currently perched on his lap. “What are your thoughts on Sunset Haven since coming back, man?”

Zack, sitting by himself on an armchair, just shrugged. “I think it’s okay so far. I never enjoyed Quartz City, so I can confirm I was really happy to come back.”

“Oh, c’mon!” Heather Ravers, the stunning pale brunette who was the cheer captain, let out a chuckle, causing the impressively deep cleavage covered by her dark-blue dress to bounce hypnotizingly. “You lived in Amethyst Shore before that doom and gloom. I want the opinion of an unbiased party so I can rub it on Sky’s face when I meet her again, which one is more fun?” She smirked dangerously. “Here or there?”

Zack almost gulped at the intensity of her electric-blue eyes on him, expecting an answer. “Uhn… no comment, I really don’t wanna get into that,” he answered, shifting in his seat a bit. “But then again, I wasn’t old enough to really enjoy Amethyst Shore, or Big Lake for that matter, so… you can make of that what you want,” he offered a smile.

“Dang it! Where’s your town pride, Bishop?” The sexy cheerleader playfully mocked. Since the familial connection between him and Logan came from their mothers, it didn’t extend to her, as she was Logan’s cousin, not his sister. A part of Zachary was definitely glad for that fact, even if he didn’t realize that just yet.

“Oh, it’s here. There’s just some battles I prefer not to drop any cents on,” the boy with icy-blue eyes laughed. “I did think the year would be… more eventful…, though,” he shrugged. “Homecoming was okay, but I guess life’s just going on.”

“You probably wouldn’t feel that way if you accepted Kevin’s invite to join the basketball team,” a friend of Logan’s, Sebastian Rivera, pointed out with a grin. “Guy’s always mentioning that he desperately needs you in it.” That made a soft round of laughter break out amongst the teens.

“You don’t exactly have a build for football, I guess,” Brandon Cole, the quarterback of the school’s football team, added with a pensive look. “But… well, it’s a moot point, you missed the try-outs and we already played a couple games.”

“You can always start a club,” Victoria Walker, the fantastically gorgeous blonde who had taken the chief-editor position of the school’s newspaper suggested. “We have many teams, squads, and organizations in our school, but not as many clubs.”

The vice-captain of Heather’s squad, a sexy, slender redhead named Sharon Miller, snorted. “A club sounds like even more work than what you do, Vicky,” she grinned teasingly, both girls’ green eyes briefly finding each other. “You already have the structure and the location, at least. A club needs to be built from scratch.”

“I guess it could work, though, now that I’m thinking about it. Depending on the subject, I could have a lot of fun,” Zack pondered. “I just don’t have the slightest idea on what it could be about,” he laughed a bit nervously.

“How about a study group?” Logan asked, his fingers lightly caressing the soft skin of his girlfriend’s midriff. “There’s always people needing help with that.”

“Oh, a book club would be nice,” Amber Evans giggled from her spot atop Logan’s lap, her brown eyes lighting up. “You could tell and discuss stories. We should enter, Loggy,” she told Logan, who just grinned and pulled her into a sweet kiss.

“An AV club, maybe?” Sebastian suggested. “I heard the one from last year disbanded and no one picked it up.”

“Or…, Zack could play to his strengths,” a really cute, blue-eyed blonde piped in, turning to her old friend. “You’re pretty good with a camera, aren’t you? So why not a photography club?”

Zack stared at the smiling Ashley Woodsen as if she had just given him the answer to the universe’s greatest mystery. “You know what? I think you might be right, Ash,” he whispered, gaze losing itself a bit in the ceiling as he scratched his chin.

The petite cheerleader’s smile grew wider. “There you have it, then. It’s not like Sunset Haven is lacking sights and spots to capture,” she argued. “Plus, you can share what you know with others. Isn’t that cool?”

Zachary nodded enthusiastically. “I gotta do some thinking first, but I really like the idea,” he told her. “I guess I’d just need to find others who might be interested, you know, before I try to get the green light.”

“Hmm,” a somewhat tall brunette with hazel eyes hummed next to Brandon, her twin brother. “I think I might be able to help you with that, Zack,” Madison Cole grinned. “If you help me with a project I’ve been cooking up in my head.”

Before Zack could answer, Heather turned to Madison with a shocked look. “Gosh, isn’t your plate full already, Maddie?” The captain inquired. “The squad, the drama club, what else?”

“Just LARPing, but we don’t do that enough,” the other cheerleader replied, shaking her head as she turned back to Zack. “Besides, this project is sort of tied to the drama club.”

“Uhn…, I’m not sure I can act, Madison,” Zack nervously chuckled, wondering if that was what this pretty girl wanted from him. He was being kind with himself, as the young man was pretty sure he couldn’t act at all. He had never tried, though.

“Oh, don’t worry, you won’t need to,” the brunette responded, the snug black sweater and jeans hugging her toned body quite well. “It’s just that hearing Ashley mention you’re good with a camera, I thought you could be the one to film a movie I kinda want to do.”

“A movie?! What?” Brandon sharply turned to his twin sister, his tone full of surprise.

“This is news to me too,” Heather laughed.

“Well, I don’t do many videos, just photos, but I guess we can work something out on a trial basis if you want,” Zachary offered, a tentative smile on his face. He wanted to be helpful, after all.

Sharon laughed next to Heather. “You guys are all crazy. Photos I can get, but a movie, Madison?” She cocked her head toward the brunette. “This is gonna take up all your year.”

Madison shrugged in response. “I just want something to remember this year for the rest of my life. I love acting in the drama club, but we don’t film our plays, and I kinda wanted to go bigger.”

“Well, it’s like they say, go big or go home,” Logan commented. “I’m looking forward to what you two are gonna do.”

Zack smiled, it was clearly something Madison had put a lot of thought into, so he decided that, if he really entered the project, there was no way he couldn’t give his all to help her throughout the entire process. “You can count on me, no worries.”

Madison beamed at him, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks. “Splendid! Oh, we can go talk to Ms. Moreau first thing Monday morning,” she told him. “I’m sure she’d love to supervise the photography club.”

Now it was Zack who blushed, and not too imperceptibly.