A/N: And here I am once again, presenting yet another one of my ideas. I really feel, even though I've said it many times before, that i can hopefully keep up with this story and update according to how many reviews I get for it. MAJOR ALERT: AS OF NOW, I DELETED STARTING OVER AND 10 YEARS. I'm sorry for any disappointment, but I just felt like I wasn't going to write those anymore and I wanted to clean up my page. However, I did leave up Dear Sharpay Evans, which I hope to try to go back to start updating. I got a pretty decent amount of reviewers saying that they were still interested, so I probably will. This story, I have all planned in my head, so I hope I will be able to just get it down on stupid OpenOffice. Cross your fingers and review.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything here.
A blazing hot sun was already high in the sky. The time, only 9:00 in the morning. Seagulls flew nonchalantly across the California sky. Gentle waves caressed the ocean shore, smoothing out the sand and rocks. Scattered people strolled on the surface, sand cascading between their feet. A jogger ran by. Boats idled peacefully by the dock, human beings slowly emerging from them.
A seagull took flight as the slider door on one of the boats creaked open. A medium sized golden retriever trotted out, followed by the twenty one year old form of Troy Alexander Bolton. A warm breeze grazed his sun-kissed face. He stretched and yawned, carefully walking across the deck of his gleaming boat, one of the possessions he cherished dearly.
All of a sudden, noisy thumping, bumping "ghetto blaster music" echoed throughout the atmosphere, slicing the early morning tranquility. He lifted his head towards the various college beach houses up shore.
They were back.
Troy shook his head, not in disapproval, or even disappointment, but in sheer annoyance. Of course, how could he forget? Every summer, late June, a group of college students, usually seniors, sometimes juniors, would rent out one of the massive party houses. If there was a time during the entire course of year, the party hardy, soon to be of drinking age, seniors was his least favorite part.
Normally, Troy didn't like to go right to assuming negative things about people. However, he wasn't one to think everyone in the world was good either. But he wasn't judgmental. but even though every year there was a different group of students, he couldn't help but have some sort of resentments, annoyance and impatience toward them.
It wasn't like they kept to themselves, ventured off to see the wonders California had to offer, or held occasional parties. Not even close. It seemed to be party everyday, night after night. Not to mention the beach. It was always trashed, beer cans, beer bottles, beer kegs and such scattered across the beautiful sand and floating carelessly in the sparkling water. Since nobody actually lived in the buildings around the "party" houses, it was usually up to himself and the fellow boat dwellers to clean up the mess.
Ridiculous. That was one of the sole words Troy could think of when he found himself throwing various pieces of litter in black garbage bags after their departure. Was it really his responsibility to save the Earth or be maid to irresponsible students, his own age? Ridiculous.
Perseus, Troy's retriever, laid quietly at the front of the boat.
"Damn kids are back," muttered the aged voice of Ted Jenkins. Well into his sixties, Ted lived in the boat parked right next to Troy's, ever since Troy had moved in, three years ago. If anyone living in the area couldn't stand the kids, it was him.
"Hey now Ted, let's not get too hostile," warned the powerful of voice of Leo Nelson, the late twenties, dark skinned fellow neighbor. Troy looked to his left. Leo was comparable to a best guy friend, a confidant, likable, relatable.
"Hmph." Ted mumbled something inaudible and returned to the safety of the interior of his not so welcoming abode.
Leo shook his head with slight disapproval. "That man, I tell you, he can be so negative sometimes." Troy shrugged.
"Well, they aren't my favorite people either though," he admitted. "Loud, obnoxious. you'd think they'd learn by now, they aren't freshman."
"Ah, but you see, they are freshman," Leo corrected, "freshman to alcohol. I'm sure most of them just turned twenty one. All college students are not anywhere at the maturity level you've achieved Mr. Troy."
"Thanks," Troy murmured, the intense UV rays of the sun continuing to beat down on him, slowly draining the energy he had woken up with. Leo shrugged, stepping out of his boat and onto the wooden constructed dock. Troy watched him waltz down the way and disappear up toward the bustling house. The sound of Lil' Wayne and Jay Sean danced down the beach and into Troy's annoyed ears. Did they have to play crappy music? Sure, it was to get "pumped up" for their arrival and the summer, but so loud? Apparently so.
He decided not to worry about, not to let it get to him, under his skin. Instead, Troy turned to his daily chores that needed to get done. There really wasn't an overwhelming amount of work to do. Living on a boat did have some perks to it. He had already picked up, polished the exterior, his hard work shining in the bright sunlight, and had already made sure there was a full tank of gas to take her out for a spin later in the day. This time, he finally smiled in approval.
His boat basically meant everything to him. Besides school. Since the passing of his mother in his senior year of high school and freshman year of college, Troy had lived on his grandfather's boat for four years. His relations with his father, who lived with his younger brother in Michigan, were nowhere near spectacular or even good. The last time he had even visited him was his sophomore year of college.
Although he didn't act like it much, it really did kill Troy that he was missing out on his brother, Andrew's life. Although six years was a large gap between the two, Troy remembered when they'd still hang out. The absence of his father didn't bother him as much, but Troy resented the fact he felt that way.
He attended UCLA as he was only a half hour away from the school. Working his butt off during high school, Troy was able to pay for his secondary schooling without loans, combined with generous scholarships. He kept more than good grades, even making the Deans List all three years of attendance.
Troy had declared a major in business management, but wasn't sure why or what he was supposed to do after college.
Troy found himself so wrapped up in his thoughts, like always, he barely noticed Leo reappear.
"I have food," he announced, happily. Troy looked up as he handed him a plate with two hot dogs and a bag of Lays potato chips.
"Hey, thanks man," Troy replied, stretching out on one of his comfy deck chairs. Leo was already settled on his signature striped arm chair. "Where'd you get the food from?"
Leo gestured toward the beach house. "Absolutely free, who can pass up free food?"
"That doesn't really answer my question."
"C'mon Bolton, where do you think I got it from? You're supposed to be genius material," Leo joked, popping open a Budweiser. He offered one to Troy, who graciously accepted.
"They gave you free food, and free beer?" Troy asked skeptically.
"Oh, c'mon Troy, they aren't the devil," Leo reasoned. "They may be obnoxious, loud and cocky, but how can you pass up free food?"
Troy nodded. "Okay." Leo gave him a look. "What?"
"Be positive Troy, c'mon, open up. After all, they are your age," Leo said, and then added, "and there are also a lot of fine looking women up there." Troy shook his head for the millionth time.
"I don't have time for that."
"Ah! You're killing me Bolton. It's time for you to get a girl! Have you even ever had a girlfriend before? First kiss? First time?"
"Well...yeah..."
"No, I'm not convinced," he accused back. "You should try to mingle. I don't know, socialize with other people your age."
This time Troy shook his head with much defiance. "I'm fine Leo, really, but thanks for looking out for me."
"No socialization is one of the worst things you could do to yourself when you are young, too much socialization will also harm you in the long run," Leo explained.
Troy thought about it for a moment. "Huh, didn't know you majored in pyschology."
"I didn't, it's called common sense. If you don't try to interact, I promise you, I will make you," he threatened. Troy honestly couldn't tell if he was serious or if he was joking. "Honestly, if you had to live off eating from free food, you'd be dead."
Troy cracked a smile. They started to laugh, eating their meals and beers, only to be drowned out by the overwhelming music and yells by the intruders.
By three o'clock in the afternoon, the high California sun beat down, heating the grainy sand and beach goers. Peacefully relaxed, Gabriella Montez dozed off, the ensemble of noises putting her into a harmonic, sleepy trance.
"Gabs! C'mon get up!" the thrilling voice of an eager Sharpay Evans came from the interior. A low groan of slight irritation emitted from the brunette. The petite frame of the bubbly soon to be senior appeared next to her comrade. "Get up! Let's not just laze around, there's so much to do. It's a beautiful day."
"Mhm, everyday is a beautiful day in Cali," Gabriella complained, eyes still shut. Sharpay sighed in defeat. "I'm just exhausted."
"Fine, I'm going to go walk along the shore, by myself, without you," she tried to brag, emphasizing the 'without you' and 'by myself' part of the statement.
"Mhm...okay, have fun..."
Without anymore response from her dead beat friend, Sharpay turned sharply on her heel and waltzed off toward the pier and the boats.
The white vessels just seemed so serene and clean. Tranquil. It was as though she stepped from a noise induced atmosphere to next to dear dead silence. It wasn't a creepy, eerie, horror movie silence though. It calmed her down immensely and she felt as though the stress from earlier in the day washed away from her. A few people were actually on their decks working, others relaxing or not to be seen at all. Sharpay admired the beauty of the boats and the time people put into making them so noble looking.
Sharpay soon came upon a boat that struck her as distinct, even though there really wasn't much distinct about it. There was no apparent reason, but she stopped. She gazed over the boat and noticed it had no name yet attached to the back of it. Finally, her eyes landed on a young, shirtless, quite attractive, man, silently dozed on the head of his boat, a retriever resting below him.
It seemed to be such a not so typical, yet typical scene. A guy, his dog and his boat, resting peacefully in the California sun. So American.
That was when she wished she had her camera. It was such a Kodak moment, it almost killed her. But not in that creeper way. She sighed, and it was as if the dog had sensed her presence. His head jolted up, and he soon started to approach her.
"Hey there buddy," she cooed, although she couldn't physically reach the dog. The strip of space, water residing at the bottom, separated her from the attention seeking animal. He let out a friendly bark. She glanced up to see if they guy stirred. Only slightly had he moved around. She glanced back at the dog who had seemed to become disinterested in her presence. Sharpay decided to move along, believing the moment was gone. Things only lasted so long. But as she started to step away, the dog perked back up and started to bark continuously.
And she watched it all unfold. The dog's monotonous barking had woken up his owner who was quickly rushing to shut his animal up. Sharpay couldn't tell if he knew she was there or not.
"Hey, hey, hey, shhhh," he cooed to his pet. "What's wrong?" He glanced up, his strikingly handsome blue pools meeting her own chocolate brown ones.
"Who's that," he asked his dog, "huh? Who's that? She looks real threatening..." He made sure he sounded sarcastic, glancing up, shooting Sharpay a grin. She started to smile. "Go on." He ushered his dog back to the front of his boat. He turned and walked to the edge, facing her.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "Perseus is usually pretty good around strangers, I guess you're an odd exception."
"Hmm," Sharpay thought about it for a moment. "I've never thought of myself as an odd exception, but we can go with that." He laughed.
"I'm Troy Bolton," he greeted, stretching out his hand. She took hold of it.
"Sharpay Evans."
"It's my pleasure."
"What a gentleman."
Troy had no idea where this new sudden wave confidence was coming from. At school, and throughout high school, he could barely get out a full, comprehensible sentence out to any girl, let alone a highly, very, very attractively hot girl.
"You have a beautiful dog, and a beautiful boat," she commented, and added to herself, and a beautiful bod.
Troy shrugged nonchalantly. "Thanks, I built it from the ground up. You can call me Noah."
"Clever, you're a comedian."
"I wouldn't consider myself to be one, but I like the title. You can refer to me as a comedian if you want though," he explained, winking at her. Sharpay felt a sudden little butterfly burst inside her stomach. Could he get anymore dreamy?
"I think I'll stick with, wait, what was your name again?" she asked, jokingly. "Mustn't have been very memorable name."
He let out a sarcastic grin. "Well aren't we funny."
"I'm kidding Troy," she said, saying his name out loud. It was nice. She didn't know any guys with that name. It sounded smooth, like butter. "So, would this be considered your big bad ass bachelor pad?"
"Well, sure, I do live on it, I am a bachelor, you decide."
"Hmm, sounds nothing like a bachelor pad at all. I think it's just a boat."
"Fine, we'll just go with that then." A quick silence ensued next. Leo's words from earlier started replaying in Troy's head. It's time for you to get a girl. That's what he said, but he remembered himself replying saying he didn't have time for something or someone like that. He also remembered what Leo had said about socialization. Normally, Troy listened to Leo's advice, but never his suggestions. And he'd been doing alright. But did he really want to be lonely for the rest of his life. He really didn't have too many great, confidant material friends and maybe someone, someone like this carefree, sexier than hell, goddess from the heavens could change something.
"So, I was thinking of taking her out later this afternoon, in about a half hour or so, and I guess it wouldn't be very gentleman like of me to not ask you if you would be interested in accompanying me on my voyage," Troy put out there, hoping he didn't sound like that much of an idiot. However, his statement, just put a smile on Sharpay's tanned face.
"You know, I'm not sure if it's so safe enough for me..."
"Oh, c'mon. Okay, what if, I get stuck out in the middle of the ocean and am stuck. And then I found a deserted island and was trapped. With no way out. Then what?"
"Well, then I would be stuck with you."
"Right, but that would still be fun, right?"
"Are you saying that you plan on getting us stuck on a deserted island?"
Troy let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh funny. Yeah. No, I'm not. Wouldn't it be devastating though if I got stranded like that?"
"I barely know you..."
"Well, if you went along with me, we could get to know each other better."
Sharpay had already knew the answer when he had first proposed the idea. She just felt he was laid back enough to join in with her witty banter.
"I'm sure you would like that wouldn't you?"
"I'm don't think I'm thinking the same as you."
"Which is...?"
"You think I'm going to cleverly seduce you with my irresistible charm and we're going to have sex."
"Well, way to just put it on the table. And no, that's not what I was thinking at all."
"Fine, fine. And to think, I actually thought you were such a sweet girl. It was nice talking to you."
A sigh. "Well, fine. But only because I feel as though you don't have any social interaction come your way often."
Troy grinned, the sentence sounding overly familiar. "Alright, alright. Toucheé. I'll get her started up. I hope you aren't hungry, I'm not very prepared with that food stuff."
Sharpay smiled genuinely. He was overly adorable in that Californian hottie way and that charming smile that appeared continuously on his flawless face.
"I'm just going to run up to the house real quick, grab some stuff," she announced, gesturing toward up shore. Troy nodded, watching her disappear. He couldn't believe what just happened, or where all that witty, clever confidence had come from. Something was different. Maybe Leo was right.
Thanks for taking the time to read, now I'm just asking for a little more time to leave a review! Thanks so much, I might try to reply to them!