Author's Note: This is what happens when I go into HSM withdrawal. I can't even tell you how much I can't wait two months for the insanity that is HSM3 to hit theatres.
The bells dangling from the door jingled as Troy and Chad entered Big Red's. It was the diner they had frequented in high school after victories, and they were here again to celebrate an achievement of a different sort: college graduation.
The place was sparsely packed. There were a few teenagers in a booth by the corner, and a businessman was being served a piece of pie at the counter. The boys took up seats in their usual booth close to the digital jukebox. A young waitress came to take their order. They were then left in solitude.
"This feels weird," Troy said.
"Huh?"
"Graduation. Being part of the world."
"Hey, you're not done with school just yet, my friend. You still have grad school. In New York! How does it get better than that? Aside from the school part, I mean."
"Aside from the part where you're going to grad school in California," Troy teased.
"True. But hey, we can't be in high school mode forever."
Troy gave him a look.
"You know what I mean," Chad added.
"Yeah, we're not in high school anymore…" Troy allowed himself a moment of nostalgia, but quickly shook it off. His friends had gone their own ways, occasionally dropping him a line or hanging out with him on vacations. He knew there wouldn't be vacation for some of them now—not like in college, anyways.
Just then, the older waitress brought their food.
"Troy Bolton! And Chad Danforth! How lovely to see you both!"
"Good to see you too, Mary," Troy replied.
"Troy, honey, you haven't been here in so long!" She lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "I'm so sorry about you and Gabriella. Such a nice girl." She tutted as she walked away.
Troy looked at his plate for a minute, then up at Chad.
"I wish people would get over that. We only went out in high school. I had girlfriends in college, too!"
"Not your fault, dude," Chad smiled. "Just ignore them."
Troy cracked a grin.
"You're right," he said.
"Per usual," Chad said as they dug in.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Troy was half done with his burger and fries when a loud CLANG! from the door chimes startled him. The door had been forcibly slammed open. The culprit stomped to the counter in a flurry of pink and silver and sat down abruptly in the center seat.
"Chocolate milkshake," the tall blonde choked out to the woman behind the counter.
"Anything else, honey?...Are you okay?" The woman saw that the girl had been crying. Mascara was streaked down her face.
"French fries. And I'm fine. I'll BE just FINE!" she snapped as the worried woman escaped to the kitchen.
"Dude. That's Sharpay." Chad said, surprised. Troy turned around to look. Just then, the door opened again. Ryan entered silently, eyes sweeping the room, stopping briefly on the boys to nod at Chad before finally resting on his upset sister. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Shar…" he said quietly.
"Ryan, I TOLD YOU. I need to be ALONE!" she shrieked.
He backed away as she turned to the milkshake the waitress had placed before her moments ago. She sipped on it sullenly as Ryan headed over to sit with Troy and Chad. Chad immediately scooched over to make room for his friend.
"What's up with Cinderella?" he asked.
Ryan slumped forwards on the table, resting his chin on his folded arms.
"Clock struck midnight," he mumbled.
"But Chad told me you said she was having a great time at NYU. You both were, weren't you?" Troy asked, confused.
"We did. But we've been trying out for shows the whole time, going to open calls and everything. We don't have agents yet; our parents wanted school to be our main focus until we got our degrees. So last month, we went to an open call for the musical that's supposed to be the next big thing. I got a role." Chad and Troy made appreciative comments. "She didn't," Ryan finished glumly.
"Bummer," Chad said.
"And it wasn't just this show. All the directors who saw me had praise for me, but Sharpay…didn't work for them. She was too flash, too pop star. Her voice isn't a Broadway voice, you know?"
Chad put an arm over Ryan's shoulders in an instinctive attempt to alleviate some of his misery.
Troy looked up at Sharpay, who was dipping her French fries in her milkshake one by one before eating them.
"So congrats on graduating anyways," he said to Ryan, who managed a smile in return.
"Thanks. Now I've got a job, and a sister who hates me because she doesn't have one too."
"She doesn't…need one, does she?" Chad asked. "Not to be rude or anything, but you guys are loaded."
"Our parents are loaded," Ryan corrected. "And Shar can't be doing NOTHING. She'll go crazy! Theatre's her life."
Troy looked over at Sharpay again. She was almost done with her French fries.
"I'll be right back," he told Chad and Ryan as he got up.
"Hey, Sharpay," he smiled at her as he sat down next to her. "How's it goin'?"
She nearly fell out of her seat.
"TROY?" She dropped her head and looked up at him through her wispy bangs with a mixture of shock and horror.
"Um…yes?" he replied, unsure of whether or not this had been a good idea.
"AAAH!" she shrieked as she lunged at him and clung to him, arms wrapped around his neck. He paused, and was about to awkwardly hug her back when she shot away with another shriek.
"OHMYGOD I bet I look HORRIBLE!"
She bolted to the bathroom before Troy could initiate a chivalrous protest. He turned to look back at Chad and Ryan. Chad was the first to speak.
"What are you DOING?"
"Helping. Hopefully," Troy replied. Ryan just looked at him thoughtfully, and then turned to Chad.
"C'mon. Let's get out of here before she comes back and sees us."
Chad had paid the check already, since Troy was going to pay for tomorrow's dinner, so he followed Ryan out to the parking lot with a "Good luck, dude" fired at Troy for good measure.
Sharpay returned moments later, cleaned up but still not quite looking all there.
"Troy!" she squealed. "How ARE you? I haven't seen you in AGES, I…" she paused as Troy put the money for her food on the counter and offered her his hand.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, giving him a look that clearly said 'What the hell, plebe?'
"We're going," he said.
"Excuse me?"
"Look, Sharpay, I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but we used to be friends (she gave him a Look), kind of, and, well, you look kind of upset, no offense. And if you are, I don't think a junk food fest will help that much."
"It might."
"Talk to me?" he pleaded.
"Ugh. FINE." She stomped out, ignoring his hand. He hastily put it in his pocket and followed her.
"How did you get here?" he asked.
"Um…cab?" she offered. He looked down at her feet. The straps on her high heeled silver sandals were digging into her feet, causing the skin to become red and inflamed.
"Sharpay. Did you WALK here?" he asked, incredulously.
"So what if I did?" she shot back.
"Your house is like three miles from here!"
"So?"
Troy made a sound of frustration.
"Will you please let me drive you home?"
"Fine."
She followed him to his car, and stepped in gracefully as he held the passenger door open for her.
"You can pick what radio station we listen to, if you want music," he said as he started the car.
"Okay." Sharpay reached out to fiddle with the radio dial. Out of sheer habit, she put on the Broadway station.
When they hit the second traffic light, Troy looked over at her. Sharpay was staring blankly out the window as her forehead rested against the glass. Sondheim's 'Sun and Moon' started to play. It was dark outside, and beyond the lights of Albuquerque the desert stretched into the blackness of night.
Troy made up his mind and turned the car to the left.
"Hey! My house is the other way!" She turned to berate him.
"I know," he said.
"Where are we going?" she demanded.
He didn't answer. Sharpay was about to let him have it when he cut the wheel and turned down the road to Lava Springs.
"Why are we going there? It's closed!"
"I worked there, remember? I know." He stopped the car at a spot near the resort overlooking the canyon.
"What the HELL, Troy!"
"Sharpay." He turned off the engine and faced her.
"What?" she asked, quieter this time.
"What's wrong?"
She looked at her lap and started to pick at the skirt of her dress. The car was silent for a while.
"Ryan's better than I am," she muttered.
Troy waited, and when it seemed as though she didn't have anything else to say, he spoke again.
"Gimme your feet for a sec."
"Why?"
"Just…please. My feet are hurting just from looking at yours."
Sharpay gave an exasperated sigh as she pulled her knees into her chest, then turned and extended her legs onto Troy's lap. Immediately he began undoing the straps around her ankles and gently removing the shoes. There was some sand between her toes. He brushed it out, and when he was sure she wasn't going to kick him, he started slowly running his thumb against the arch of her foot.
She stared at him until he looked up. He stopped.
"Why are you stopping? That feels good," she huffed as she crossed her arms and leaned her head against the seat back, closing her eyes in the process. He shook his head at her antics. A minute later, he spoke.
"Remember the summer before senior year? You tried to make it so I'd fall in love with you." She gave no reaction. "Well, that didn't really work out, did it?" She shifted her head. "Sometimes things don't go exactly as you plan them, Sharpay. You know that." Her eyes snapped open to halfheartedly glare at him.
"Ryan told you about New York," she said dully. He nodded. She closed her eyes again. More silence.
"I don't know what to do," she finally admitted. He waited. "This is my life. If I'm not on stage…I can't NOT be on stage!" She was sitting up and looking right at him, seemingly on the verge of hysteria.
"How could this happen? HOW? Ryan's better than me! Everyone wants HIM!"
She took a breath, recognizing the desperation in her voice.
"No one wants me," she finished quietly.
Troy gave her foot a gentle squeeze, mindful of the tender skin.
"Sharpay, I know theatre is important to you—"
"—DO you?—"
"—so can't you do something not on stage?" She looked horrified at the thought. "Not permanently," he added hastily. "You know, do something more behind the scenes for a while, take some more time to mature as a performer, then try again." She looked a little less scandalized, so he continued. "I mean, you were so great at setting up your performances. All those special effects and costumes and lights? That was you, Sharpay and that took a lot of effort. I think you'd be a great director."
"Or producer." She perked up.
"Even if you started small, as a stagehand or something." She made a face.
"Gotta start somewhere, Sharpay."
"What are you doing with your life?" she asked after a minute.
"Grad school. In New York. I want to be a sportscaster, and I'm hoping to snag a good internship at ESPN or something."
"Fabulous!" she said, smiling. He grinned, thankful she wasn't so moody anymore.
"Sharpay?"
"Mmm?"
"Are you really that upset that Ryan got that part?"
"No," she sighed. "I just wish it was me. I really am proud of him though."
"You should tell him that."
"I do all the time! I—OH!" she gasped suddenly.
"AH! INSPIRATION!" She leaned forwards, towards Troy. "I'll be Ryan's AGENT!" she shrieked happily. "It's PERFECT!" She leaned back again, giggling and clapping her hands a few times.
"Thank you for the foot massage, Troy. And for talking to me, too, I guess." She withdrew her legs and folded them under her as she buckled her seatbelt. "Now take me home, please. I've got a career to plan!"
Troy grinned as he started up the car and 'You Can't Stop the Beat' from Hairspray began to play. Sharpay turned up the volume and rolled her window down, causing her hair to be blown in every direction as they sped off towards her house.
"Hey, I think I actually know this one!" Troy yelled over the music and the wind.
"Sing it then!" Sharpay yelled back.
"YOU CAN'T STOP THE BEEEEEEEEAT!" they belted together.
xoxoxoxoxo
As Troy pulled up to Sharpay's house, he saw Ryan and Chad's heads vanish from a second floor window where Ryan had apparently been awaiting his sister's return. As Troy killed the engine, the front door opened and Ryan came out. When he saw that Sharpay was in good spirits, he looked relieved. She leaped out of the car, shoes dangling from her left hand, and grabbed her brother in a hug.
"Ryan! There's no time to lose! Come on!" She dragged him into the house.
"DANFORTH! OUT!" Troy snickered as his best friend was evicted.
"Well, you certainly got her back to normal," Chad said darkly as he got into the front seat.
Suddenly the front door burst open again.
"TROOOOOOOOOY!" Sharpay ran over to the driver's side where Troy's window was rolled down.
"…yes?"
"I just realized. You're going to New York…and we're going to New York…"
"So…I'll be seeing you…there…a lot?"
"Oh, TROY, you DO care!" She kissed him on the cheek before dashing back into the house, yelling "Call me!" over her shoulder.
Chad was cracking up.
"Definitely back to normal, Bolton!" he managed to say.
Troy didn't hear him. He was too busy wondering if being in New York…with her…wasn't going to be such a bad idea after all…
