Troy walked up to Gabriella but stopped abruptly when he saw Ryan twirling her in his arms, they stopped as well.
Ryan took his arms off of Gabriella's waist as Troy looked up at them confused, "Hey" Gabriella said, if she was feeling awkward she didn't let it show.
"Hey!" Ryan exclaimed brightly after her.
Troy looked at them for a few seconds before saying, "So, I called last night, I got, uh, hung up at the gym" he said still a little surprised.
The awkward silence took place for a few moments as none of them spoke, Ryan tried to break it by saying, "Hey, my dad said you're doing great with those college guys"
Not that that helped anything at all but Troy answered back, "Oh, yeah, they're awesome, playing with them was like to be in another world"
Gabriella smiled as she turned to Ryan, "Oh, well, you missed out a fun night, it was very great" she said to him.
Ryan pretended to be holding a golf club and swung it in the air as they laughed together.
"But the dessert afterwards, had to be the best part" he said as he gripped Gabriella's shoulders and pulled her against him, "Her mom makes the best brownies in the entire world" Ryan continued as if that was any news to Troy.
"Yeah I know, I've had them" Troy cut him off letting him know about it.
This time Ryan looked down embarrassedly but before he had a chance to escape, another voice cut into the conversation.
"Troy, I…" Sharpay said walking down the steps behind them but stopped just as abruptly as Troy had done a few minutes ago when she saw the scene in front of her.
She looked dumbstruck at Ryan and Gabriella for a few minutes before she blinked and turned to Troy when he asked:
"What?"
Sharpay swallowed whatever it was that was stuck in her throat and smiled reassuringly at him, "Uh, eh, nothing I just wanted to congratulate you for the game last night, you were amazing" she said as she turned away to leave hoping Troy had enough sense to not get her thrown into the conversation.
Apparently he didn't because as soon as she turned on her heel he called her back and asked, "You were there?"
Sharpay closed her eyes and sighed in exasperation before turning around, "Yeah, my dad called me to watch the game" she answered sweetly while glaring daggers at him.
Troy smiled that cute little smile of his and nodded, "Thanks, it means a lot"
Sharpay looked at him in surprise, "Uh, no problem" she said nodding back at him.
They looked at each other in silence for a while forgetting about the other couple, which was obviously staring at them, Sharpay seemed to snap out of it before Troy and said, "Uh, I should probably leave you three to talk" she motioned awkwardly to them "whatever this is out"
Before Troy had the chance to say anything else she tuned around and climbed up the steps, she turned around before taking the last step and called, "Troy" he looked up at her "You know where to find me if you need" then she was gone.
Troy looked at where she was for a few minutes before turning to Ryan and Gabriella, he smirked and said, "You know, sometimes even Sharpay can be nicer than you" he said to the brunette then disappeared just as quickly as Sharpay.
Sharpay wasn't surprised when she heard the banging at her door around three a.m., she got up from her bed and put her slippers on and walked towards the door.
"Come in" she said opening it for Troy, he walked in awkwardly and she closed the door softly behind him then leaned against it.
"So…wanna talk?" She asked when she saw him looking around her stuff.
He turned to her and scratched behind his neck, "Not really"
She nodded and smiled walking back to her bed, "'Kay, then I would really like to go back to bed, if you need anything just say it"
"Uh, Sharpay?" He called when she was about to sit on the bed.
She turned to him still holding the blanket, "Yeah?"
"I was, uh, wondering" he stuttered and she raised her eyebrows in question, "wondering if I could stay here for the night, you know, in case Gabriella decides to sneak into my room and wait for me to wake up so we can talk first thing in the morning, but you know, if you don't…"
"Troy?" Sharpay cut him off and he looked up to see her smiling face, "It's okay, you can stay here, I don't mind"
Troy nodded and smiled at her, she dropped her blankets and started to walk towards the couch.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
"I'll get the couch, you can have the bed"
Troy started to walk after her, "No, no Sharpay, I don't want to be a burden on you, no, you sleep on your bed"
She laughed softly, "Troy you're the one in pain here, not me, don't worry about it, it won't kill me to sleep on a couch for a night" she said pushing him away.
"But…"
"I said no!" She snapped.
Troy widened his eyes at her, only five seconds ago she was acting so nice.
Sharpay sighed and turned to him, "Look, Troy, I really don't care, just take the bed okay?"
He nodded and decided to slip under the covers before she got angry again, Sharpay did the same on the couch and both tried to sleep.
"Sharpay?" The girl jolted up awake when she heard his soft whisper a few minutes later, she looked around confused for a while when she didn't felt her soft blanket around her then remembered Troy was on her bed and she was on the couch. She fell back hoping not to hit its arm, no such luck, she winced inwardly and started to rub the back of her head asking angrily, "What?"
Troy heard the thump as she hit the couch and light up the lamp beside her bed, Sharpay looked up at him with her eyes narrowed because of the sudden clarity but he could still sense her annoyance.
He couldn't help but notice how cute she looked when she was angry, especially in the middle of the night that she was dressed in her simple black and pink nightgown and her hair was all messed up.
Sharpay finally managed to blink the sleep from her eyes and sat up on the couch, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was 5:45 a.m., the sun was about to rise, she groaned and looked back at him.
"Couldn't you have waited fifteen minutes?" She asked yawning.
He looked at the clock and turned bright red, "Uh, sorry, you can go back to sleep if you want"
"No, now that I'm already awake you can speak"
Troy nodded and walked to the couch sitting himself in front of her so they were facing each other.
"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" He asked.
"Uh?" She yawned back.
"This, pushing Gabriella away because I'm upset with her?" He clarified himself.
"Troy, this is your life to live, therefore your decision to make" she said and he looked up at her almost smugly and she explained, "I'm not saying I don't have a opinion about it, it's not that, I just can't tell you what I think without insulting your friends and I don't believe you would like that"
"My friends?" Troy laughed bitterly, "Ha, because those backstabbing people can be considered my friends"
Sharpay laughed softly and unconsciously grabbed his hand on hers, "Well, it's not like you can blame them for being mad at you"
"Yeah, well" he said looking down at their entwined hands, feeling the warm heat pour out form hers.
"But I…" He started saying but they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Before Sharpay could yell the person to leave the door opened and Leah's head popped on the doorway, she looked at them awkwardly knowing they didn't want her there.
"Want something?" Sharpay asked slipping her hand form Troy's and standing up, he felt immediately disappointed.
"Uh, yeah, your parents are calling you downstairs"
"Oh, okay, I'm gonna get changed and be down in a second" Sharpay said.
Leah nodded and left, Sharpay didn't look at Troy as she got changed then left. (Leah is one of the Sharpettes, right?)
Gabriella was sitting on a rock by the lake when he found her.
"Gabriella?" Ryan asked putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.
She looked up and smiled lightly, "Hey"
"Uh, is everything okay?" He asked sitting down next to her. She looked away.
"Fine" was her curt answer.
"Have you turned monosyllabic now?" Ryan nervously attempted to make a joke.
She laughed a little, "Sorry, I think I'm just upset and taking it out on you"
"Ha, don't worry about it, Sharpay does it all the time" He laughed back.
"Well, that's one part of the problem"
"What, Sharpay's abusing on me?"
Gabriella chuckled, "No, just Sharpay"
When Ryan simply looked at her dumbly she explained, "I've been looking for her and Troy all morning and found nothing"
Ryan smirked, "Well, I don't know about Troy, but I do know my sister, and when she wants to avoid someone, she knows how to. So if I were you, I'd give up"
"Yeah, well, but I just, I really wanted to talk to Troy, I don't know, apologize or something"
Ryan pulled her against his side and laid her head on his shoulder, "Shhh, it'll be okay"
OoOoOo
"I can't believe he said that" Sharpay complained to Leah as they walked away from the talk she had had with her parents.
"Well, Shar, you know your brother, so I don't really know why that surprises you" Leah said not noticing that Sharpay had stopped walking.
"Shar? Why aren't you…" Leah asked looking around for her friend when she didn't get an answer.
"Hey, thanks for…" she said walking back to Sharpay but the blonde put a hand over her mouth to stop her from talking and pointed towards the lake.
Leah looked over and just saw Ryan and Gabriella sitting hugging each other on a rock, "It's Ryan and Gabriella, so what?"
Sharpay looked up at her with that mischievous glint in her eyes that always meant she was up to something.
"Oh no, what is it now?"
"Will you do me a favor?" Sharpay asked smirking.
Leah sighed, "Why do you always have to put me in the middle of your schemes?"
Sharpay just smiled sweetly and asked, "Could you go back to my room and make sure Troy doesn't leave there till I say so?"
Before she could say something Sharpay was already jumping down the hill towards the other two. Leah sighed shaking her head and went to do what she was asked to.
OoOoOo
Gabriela settled in Ryan's comforting embrace and tried not to think in what would be like to have Troy hugging her like that.
"Ha, ha, ha, don't you two make such a cute couple?" Someone laughed clapping behind them.
They jumped up turning around to see Sharpay walking towards them with a triumphant smirk on her face.
"Sharpay…" Gabriella said angrily and made a motion to stand up but Ryan held her down.
Sharpay jumped back in surprise but still held her smirk, "Huh, huh, a little violent today, Montez?"
"Where is Troy?"
"What makes you think I know?" Sharpay asked walking forward again.
"I know he went looking for you last night" Gabriella said making Ryan let go of her and standing up.
"Okay, so Troy did came to me last night, but what exactly gave you the idea that I would tell you where he is?"
"Sharpay!" Gabriella yelled angrily.
"No, seriously, why would I tell you where he is when he came to me to avoid you?"
Gabriella backed away from her shocked, "He was avoiding me?"
"It hurts, doesn't it Gabriella? To have the only guy you care about looking for comfort on your archenemy's shoulder?"
"You're lying, he maybe have been upset with me but he wouldn't go to you for it"
Sharpay smiled, "Are you sure about that? Or are you just trying to not…"
She couldn't finish because Gabriella slapped her hard on the cheek.
Sharpay chuckled turning her head back to Gabriella, "Trying to not face the fact that Troy rather to talk to me when he's upset than to you?"
"Miss Montez!" Someone called from behind them and they looked up to see Fulton running down the hill towards them. Sharpay could barely contain her laughter.
"Yes?" She asked when he stopped beside them.
Fulton looked up at Gabriella and opened his mouth to, Sharpay was sure, fire her.
"No, Fulton, don't fire Gabriella" Sharpay stopped him.
He looked up at her, "But…"
"No, don't worry about it, this was just a misunderstanding between friends, she didn't mean to slap me, right Gabriella?" She asked turning to the brunette.
"Uh, no, no" Gabriella said shaking her head vigorously. Sharpay rolled her eyes.
"Okay, are you sure?" Fulton asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure, but I would really like to see the tapes and erase this incident, you know, before someone else does it and starts to think the wrong things about Gabriella"
Fulton took a bunch of keys from his pocket and handed them to Sharpay, "Are you gonna be okay, Miss Evans?"
"Yes, I will, thank you, Fulton"
He nodded and shot one last glare to Gabriella before walking away.
Gabriella was read to thank her when Sharpay said, "Troy is gonna be so disappointed when he sees those tapes, so disappointed"
"What!? Your going to tell him?" Gabriella exclaimed.
Sharpay chuckled and looked up at her, "What? You thought I was seriously gonna erase the tapes to save your ass? Come on, you can't be that idiot, can you?" She asked and started to walk away without waiting for an answer.
Gabriella ran after her and turned her around by her shoulder, "Okay, I'll do anything that makes you don't tell him"
Sharpay shook her hand away, "I don't want you to do anything" and started to walk away again.
"Sharpay, please!" Gabriella called.
Sharpay stopped, "Well, there is one thing, but it involves your friends as well" she said and turned around to look Gabriella right in the eye.
"What is it?"
Sharpay walked back towards her and stared her down, "You and your friends forgive him"
"I'm sorry?" Gabriella asked as the blonde started to pace around.
"It's easy, even you can understand" she just smiled at Gabriella's annoyed look, "Troy is upset, but he is also hurt by the way that you guys have been treating him"
"Yeah, yeah, I know that he sort of deserved it, you don't have to spell it out for me" she shot her down when Gabriella opened her mouth to speak.
"But, if you guys really are his friends then you would have tried to see his side of the thing"
Gabriella looked at her for a few moments before sighing and asking, "What do I have to do?"
Sharpay smiled, "It isn't so hard, just find a way to make your friends forgive him and revive the friendship like nothing ever happened"
"But how do you expect me to do that?" Gabriella asked incredulously.
"That's up to you, but you've got one week, or Troy hears about everything" she said and walked away leaving Gabriella to think about what she would do.
Three days went by before Gabriella found the guts to talk to her friends about Sharpay's request, well, one friend if you ask, but that doesn't matter.
"So, Sharpay really did asked you to do that?" Taylor asked as Gabriella finished telling her about what had happened that day.
Gabriella nodded, "And I have absolutely no idea what-so-ever of how to do it, I mean, its sort of obvious that Chad won't forgive Troy just because I'm asking him to"
"Yeah, Chad is a stubborn guy" Taylor chuckled.
Gabriella heard the chuckle and looked sideways at Taylor with a smirk on her face.
Taylor looked up at her, "What?"
The other girl just chuckled, "Nothing"
"Gabriella" Taylor pushed her against the ground.
Gabriella laughed attempting to sit up again, "What, I said it was nothing"
"There is nothing going on between me and Chad so stop thinking about it"
"I wasn't thinking about anything" Gabriella laughed again.
As Taylor opened her mouth to answer another voice cut into the conversation, "What are you guys so cheerful about?"
They looked up to see the rest of the gang, except Sharpay and Troy walking towards them.
"Nothing" Gabriella answered to Kelsi's question and sent a glare to Taylor's direction before moving over to give the guys space to sit. She couldn't help but notice how Ryan had made sure he was sitting beside her.
They went talking on and on about things that were happening in the club for several minutes, but it was when Jason said something that he caught Gabriella, Taylor and Ryan's attention.
"So, Troy seems a little stranger than usual in the past days" he had said.
The three of them looked up at him.
"Um, how so, Jason?" Gabriella asked after a few minutes of silence.
"I don't know, I mean, he still keeps playing with those basketball guys, but now he won't leave Sharpay's side for nothing. Did you guys have a fight or something, Gabriella?"
She looked down but could still feel all eyes settling on her, before she could make up a excuse and get herself out of there, Ryan butted in, "Um, actually guys, Gabriella does have something to say, right Gabriella?"
She looked up and gave him such a Sharpay-like glare that he shrunk back into the grass.
"You told him?" Taylor whispered to Gabriella.
Gabriella nodded.
"What is it, Gabs?" Chad asked.
She looked up ready to answer but saw Sharpay glaring down at her from the stairs of the hotel and shaking a CD.
Gabriella blinked and sighed trying to focus on her request, "Um, well, I sort of, have something to ask you guys"
"Yeah, we already got that part, but you still haven't said what that is exactly" Kelsi said, she didn't have a good feeling about this.
"Sharpay, she, um, well, we, had an argument a few days ago and she gave an ultimatum about Troy" Gabriella stuttered.
"An ultimatum about Troy?" Chad asked not knowing where this was going.
"What this argument was about?" Kelsi asked before she could answer.
"Um, well, I asked her where Troy was and she started to say some things about Troy being upset with me and going to her about it then, well, I slapped her" Gabriella said, her cheeks reddening with shame.
"And, well, what was the ultimatum about again?" Chad asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Um, I didn't know that there were cameras filming everything or I would have controlled myself better, but I didn't, so she said she would show the tape to Troy if you guys didn't make up with him, and, well, I agreed"
Their jaws dropped and they looked at her shocked, "What!?"
"Look, guys, I'm sorry, but I just didn't want to jeopardize our friendship with Troy even more!" Gabriella rushed to explain.
"Jeopardize?!" Chad exclaimed incredulously, "There is nothing to jeopardize anymore, our friendship with Troy ended when he started hanging out with those basketball guys and shoved us out of his life!"
They all looked at him in shock, even Ryan, who wasn't that much of a friend to Troy was surprised to hear Chad saying those things.
"What, at least it did for me" Chad said.
Gabriella shook her head ad turned back to the rest of the group, "What abut you guys?"
"You know, Gabs, as much as I would like to forgive Try and befriends with him again, Chad is right, what he did, is sort of, well, hard to forgive and forget" Jason said after a few minutes, Zeke agreed with him.
Gabriella closed her eyes and sighed in exasperation, "I'm not asking you guys to forgive and forget, I know you can't do that, not even I could, but please, just tell him that you're sorry and try to rebuild the friendship, for me"
They all looked at her suspiciously for a while, then Chad asked, "What if Sharpay is lying? What if she has already shown Troy the tape and didn't tell you anything?"
"She wouldn't do that" Ryan butted in, "She may not be the nicest person ever and I know she does practically everything to get what she wants, but she wouldn't break her promise, never"
A few minutes passed in silence as they thought, but Kelsi finally agreed, followed by Martha, Jason and Zeke. They all looked at Chad expectantly.
The afro haired boy sighed, "Okay…but only if Sharpay doesn't come along"
Gabriella squealed and tackled him down in a hug, "Thank you so much!"
Chad pushed her away hastily and struggled to sit up.
"There is one thing through" Ryan said, they turned at him confused, "About that Sharpay not coming along thing, that is not our place to decide, that's up to Troy, they have become incredibly close in the past days, and I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't accepted our apologies without Sharpay by his side"
"Well, then let's just hope he doesn't do that" Chad said voicing everyone's thoughts.
Incredibly close, yes, but how close?
That was what Ryan wondered when he saw Sharpay and Troy golfing together, again, a day later.
Troy was standing behind Sharpay, back straddling her (I'm not 100 sure what that means), holding her upper arms in a back swing while still grinning boyishly down at her.
Sharpay smiled as Troy swung her arm back and hit the ball, making it go all over to the other side of the field.
"Nice job, Evans" he whispered on her ear.
She looked up at him and grinned, "My teacher is really good"
"And does that teacher minds that someone else is teaching golf to his best student?"
"He is a very jealous guy" she said back teasingly.
"Aham, and, what do we do about him?" He whispered back hoarsely.
"I don't know, what are you willing to do?"
Troy dropped her arm and buried his face on the crook of her neck, "Whatever you let me do" he moaned and she giggled.
Ryan dropped his glass of juice and looked jaw slacked at them.
"Hey, Ryan I…" someone said form behind him and he whipped his head around trying to keep Gabriella from seeing Troy and Sharpay when he recognized her voice.
But he was too late, she stopped dead on her tracks and looked at the couple the same way he had only seconds ago.
"Gabriella…I…" he stuttered.
She blinked and looked back at him, finally regaining control of her jaw again, "Uh, what?"
"About Troy and Sharpay, I didn't…wait, you're not crying?"
She blinked at him again, "What? Why would I be crying?"
He grabbed the back of her neck and turned her to the couple, "Troy and Sharpay, I thought you were at least gonna be upset about that"
Gabriella sighed and smiled at him, "Why would I be upset? Troy and I never dated, of course I wanted us to, but if he wants to be with Sharpay, who am I to object?"
"Wow" Ryan said, she turned to him, "You really changed"
Gabriella turned fully around to face him, "How's that again?"
"Just last year, you were head over heels for Troy" she lifted an eyebrow at him "And now you're already giving up on him because of Sharpay, come on, what happened to you?"
"All, this thing about the tape, I don't think Sharpay did it because she felt like it or because she thought it was fun, I don't know why, but I really do think she did it to help Troy"
"Which she hasn't until now, because we still have to apologize to Troy" Ryan said scratching the back of his neck and looking over to his sister, only to find she and Troy had disappeared, to do what he was sure he didn't want to know about.
"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about, you coming with us, right?"
He looked at her incredulously, "Me? What did I do to Troy?"
"Oh, come on Ryan, please, do it for me" Gabriella pleaded.
He looked down at her and groaned, "Why didn't I just stayed with Sharpay, things would be way easier"
"Is that a yes?" Gabriella asked wrinkling her nose in confusion.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever" he mumbled humorlessly.
"Thank you!" She squeaked and planted a kiss on his cheek before running off like a five years old.
Ryan stood dumbstruck where he was, his jaw dropping open and the heat going all the way form his neck up to his ears.
He dumbly lifted his hand to touch the place Gabriella had kissed as he watched her skip away.
When they went to apologize to Troy, they couldn't have chosen better timing.
"Troy, man, can we talk?" Chad asked as they saw Troy and Sharpay sitting together on a tree.
Sharpay and Troy swirled around to face him surprised but annoyed at the same time.
"Perfect timing, Chad…" Gabriella whispered under her nose when Sharpay glared at her.
Troy glared at his former best friend and stood up, "What is it, Danforth?" He snapped.
As Chad opened his mouth to snap back, Taylor put a hand over it and whispered in his ear, "Shh, remember you promised you would try to stay calm"
Chad sighed and bit her hand away.
"Look, Troy, can we just talk, I don't want to fight with you" Chad said again a little calmer.
Troy sighed and grasped Sharpay's hand between his, she pulled it away and he looked at her surprised, she smiled at him and backed away, "This is between you and your friends, I'll talk to you later" she said then left him there standing confused.
OoOoOo
"So, what is so important that you had to talk to about?" Troy asked after he watched Sharpay leave.
"I…" Chad started Taylor glared up at him, "Uhn, we…we're sorry"
Troy looked surprised at him and laughed hollowly, "Sorry? Do you really think that sorry will make everything alright?"
"Look, Troy, we're trying to make up with you here, please don't make this more difficult than it should be" Taylor said getting annoyed.
He laughed again, "Oh, difficult? Now you think about being difficult? Have you ever thought about how difficult it was for me in the past days?"
"Again, we're sorry, about everything" Gabriella said, feeling they weren't going to get forgiveness as easy as she thought.
When Troy didn't say anything, Gabriella kicked Chad's foot with hers and nodded for him to do something.
He sighed and turned to Troy pleading to him with his eyes, "Look, Troy, I'm sorry for what I did and said, it wasn't my place to do so, I knew you were focused on getting a scholarship and I think I just got jealous 'cause you were getting everything I had dreamed of and couldn't have" he said convincingly.
Troy looked at him suspiciously for a few moments before a smile broke into his face and he nodded, "Everything is cool, don't worry about it"
They all smiled and released a breath of relief before enveloping him a bear hug.
Troy laughed as they squeezed him and hugged them back, momentarily forgetting about Sharpay and not seeing her standing a few feet away from them smiling over the tears filling her eyes.
Only a week later, in which Sharpay had made an amazing job of avoiding Troy, was that Troy finally managed to catch her off guard and talk to her.
"Hey, Sharpay" he said approaching the girl as she sat on a rock above the pool late at night.
She looked up scared but sighed in relief when she saw it was just him, "Hey"
Troy sat beside her and put an arm around her waist trying to pull her close, she immediately pushed him away.
He looked at her shocked and she rushed to explain, "I'm sorry, I just, don't feel like having any human contact now, you know, lots of tanning this morning, aching skin" she said awkwardly.
Troy still looked a little suspicious but nodded and moved away form her, "Sure, no worries"
They looked away form each other for a while before both said at the same time, "Troy, I…"
"Why haven't you…"
Both blushed and looked down, "Uh, you go" Sharpay said.
Troy nodded and looked up at her, "Why haven't you been talking to me that past week?"
Sharpay swallowed and hid her eyes again, "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about"
"Um, is there something you're not telling me?" He asked nervously, while wondering why the hell he was asking that when he definitely didn't want to hear her answer.
She didn't dare to look him in the eye when she cleared her throat and answered, "I don't…think it's working between us anymore Troy"
Troy widened his eyes in shock and swallowed as well, "Uhn, what?"
Sharpay finally looked up at him, her eyes were filling with tears, "We have to end this"
"Why?"
"I…now that you have your friends back, there is no reason to keep doing this"
"You can't be serious, this is a joke, right? Just trying to pull a prank on me?" Troy asked laughing nervously.
She sighed and shook her head no, letting a few tears spill over, "No, it isn't, we can't stay together anymore, your friends will never accept me and I don't want to break your friendship with them again"
The smile dropped from his face and he moved closer to her, grabbing her arms he begged, "No, no, Shar, if to have my friends back I have to give up on you, then I won't do it, I can live without them"
"I won't let you do that, you can live without me as well, Troy, you'll be fine" Sharpay said standing up and walking backwards before she broke down in front of him.
He stood up and ran after her, "Sharpay, please think about what your doing, no I won't be fine, I don't wanna to not have you in my life, you're a part of it now, you can't just walk out of it whenever you feel like to"
She pulled her arm away from his grip and backed away even more, tears blurring her vision, "It was never meant to last Troy, you and I both know that, please don't make this harder than it should be"
"But I…" He started to say but a hand over his mouth stopped him.
Sharpay retreated back her hand and put it under her nose to stop it from running, "No, don't say it, I'm sorry Troy, so sorry" she said and ran away before he could say anything else.
This time, it was Gabriella who found Ryan.
"Hey" she said approaching him on the basketball court.
He looked back and smiled at her, "Hey"
Gabriella walked over and stood beside him and they watched some kids play soccer on the other court.
"So, you were right after all" he said after a few minutes turning to her.
She looked up at him questioningly.
"I found Sharpay crying on her pillow last night"
"And…you assumed she was crying because of Troy?"
He sat down and pulled her with him before answering, "Well, Sharpay doesn't cry very often, or when she does, she lets absolutely no one see her, so yes, I did"
"So, do you have a guess as to why she was crying?"
"For the same reason she cried last time" he looked down.
Again, she looked questioningly at him, "What?"
He looked back up at her and smiled, "Troy, obviously"
"She has already cried over Troy before?"
Ryan nodded and looked away, "When they broke up a few years ago"
Gabriella laughed lightly, "Wow, that one I didn't expect"
"And guess who was the reason for the break-up?" He asked turning to her.
She smiled and looked sideways at him, "No idea"
"Chad Danforth" he smiled and nodded.
Gabriella laughed, "You can't be serious"
"Glad to know my pain amuses you two" someone said form behind them before he could answer.
They turned around to see Sharpay walking towards them, both were shocked to see the look in her eyes, they were empty, not even a little hint of anger nor of the tears Ryan was previously talking, just plain emptiness.
She threw something into Ryan's lap and walked away without waiting for them to say something.
"Sharpay!" Gabriella called standing up.
Sharpay turned around and stared at her, "Yes?"
"I'm sorry for what happened between you and Troy" she said shyly.
Sharpay chuckled hollowly and shook her head looking down, "You know, judging by the way you called me, I actually thought you were gonna tell me something sincere"
Gabriella furrowed her brows and looked back at Ryan then turned to Sharpay and grabbed her arm to make her stop, "I am, I'm really sorry"
Sharpay pulled her arm back so harshly that Gabriella even stumbled back a little, "Oh please! Spare me your pity!"
"Why would I pity you?" Gabriella asked incredulously, "I know you don't need anyone's pity"
"Sharpay…" she started to say but was cut off.
"You can have Troy all for yourself now damn it! Isn't that what you wanted? Fine! I give up! Troy is all yours!" Sharpay snapped turning around.
Gabriella backed away and watched Sharpay breathing heavily for a few seconds before the tears started, Sharpay turned her head away and sniffed a little.
"Sharpay, I don't want Troy anymore, I saw the way he looked at you, you were never the one standing in the way, I was, you're supposed to be with him, not me" Gabriella said sympathetically.
Sharpay looked back up at her and whipped the tears away form her face hastily, "Whatever, Gabriella, there is nothing between us anymore" she said turning away and walking as fast as her feet would allow back to the hotel.
Ryan watched as Gabriella hung her head and whispered some things under her breath, he ran after his sister grabbing Gabriella's hand on the way and telling her over his shoulder, "I'll talk to you later"
Ryan caught up with Sharpay on the baseball field, actually he didn't even had to make that much effort, she was just standing there looking at nowhere.
"Sharpay" he called softly when he was about ten feet away from her.
She turned around and smiled briefly at him before turning away again, "Have you ever watched the sunset from here?"
He laughed confusedly, "What?"
"The sunset, have you ever sat here and watched it, it's beautiful" she said.
"No, never even thought about that" he said back trying not to sound much idiot.
Sharpay turned at him and smiled again, "You should, it makes you forget about everything else"
He smiled and nodded to himself, so that is what this was all about, "I'll keep that in mind, sis"
She looked up at him startled by the word sis but he just smiled and tapped her nose gently like he used to do when they were kids.
Sharpay smiled and looked down, "You came here to talk to me about Troy, right?"
Ryan sat down on the sand and pulled on her shorts for her to join him, she smiled and sat on his stretched legs, Ryan's eyebrow rose.
"Sorry, white shorts" she said pointing down at said garment.
Ryan just snorted at her and put his head on her shoulder just as the sunset started. Both smiled.
"So, what you wanna tell me?" She asked after a while.
Ryan sighed and puffed his cheeks before he answered hesitantly, "I heard you last night"
Sharpay jumped off of his lap and looked at him, "What?"
"Look, just before you explode or something, I wasn't trying to pry or anything like that" he rushed to explain.
"Oh, weren't you?"
"I was just passing by your room to get a glass of water and heard you, I swear I didn't mean to"
She looked down and sighed not looking up at him she said, "If you're here to lecture me about letting myself get hurt again by the same boy, then you can leave, I know how to loathe myself pretty well"
"Sharpay, you're my sister, you know I love you and only want your good right?"
She looked back at him with confusion etched on her face, "Why does that matter now?"
Ryan sighed and smiled softly, "If I do lecture you it's because I don't wanna see you suffer, not because I want to annoy you or anything like that"
"Where you wanna get with this Ryan?"
He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and said, "These past few weeks when we didn't talk to each other, I learnt how it was like to have friends and I saw that you could be fine without me there, I will always lecture you Sharpay, I'm your older brother but I also saw that by taking care of yourself, you managed to bring people close to you and open up to someone besides me, I saw the way you and Troy looked at each other, yes, there will always be a little bit of uneasiness between us, but if you're really happy with him, I can't make you guys stay apart"
"Like I said, there is nothing between me and Troy anymore" Sharpay said softly.
Ryan just lifted an eyebrow at her and fought to keep the smile off of his lips.
"Do you know what the five stages of cancer are?" He asked after a while.
"Five stages of cancer? How would I know that?" Sharpay asked incredulously.
"Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance" he recited.
Sharpay smiled and rolled her eyes at him, "So, now you think I have some kind of cancer, of which the cause is falling in love?"
"Well, sort of, I mean, you've already went through four of the symptoms, not on order obviously, but you had them"
"So, doc, is my final diagnostic love cancer? Does it have a cure?" She asked nonchalantly pretending she was a patient.
"Well, Miss Evans, I'm sorry to be the one to deliver you these news, but there is only one cure, otherwise it could be deathly" Ryan said back playing along.
"And what cure would that be, doc? I really don't wanna die" she said pretending to wipe away a fake tear.
"You'll find out what to do in time" he said returning to his old self, "You're smart, you'll be ready when the time comes"
Before she had a chance to answer Ryan pulled her in and crushed her petite frame in a tight embrace, Sharpay smelled in his designed cologne and released a breath of relief before wrapping her arms around his torso.
"And I'm only three minutes younger"
Sharpay saw all the gang gathered up around the table in the porch and sighed deeply before walking towards them.
"Troy" she said softly nearing the back of his chair.
He swirled his head around startled at her voice and looked up at her speechless, she sighed resisting the urge to roll her eyes and nodded her head towards the garden, "Wanna talk to you" and started to walk again.
Troy looked at her back for few seconds then turned to Ryan with a question in his eyes.
"You better go, before she changes her mind" Ryan said nodding towards his sister.
Troy blinked as if snapping out of something and ran after Sharpay, grabbing Gabriella's sandwich on his way.
Her jaw dropped and she looked at him, "Hey, that's mine…" she tried to say but he had already disappeared.
She huffed and turned around to make another sandwich throwing a glare at Ryan's direction when she heard his chuckles and another one at Chad's for the same reason.
"So, what's up with the cancer thing, Ryan?" She asked.
He looked up at her, "What?"
"Sharpay told me what you said to her three days ago, what's with the five stages of cancer? Do you know someone who has had cancer?"
Ryan chuckled and looked down, "No, I just got it form a medical show I watch"
Gabriella stopped buttering her bread and looked at him surprised, "You watch medical TV shows?"
He lifted an eyebrow in question at her, "Got a problem with that, Montez?"
She got back at what she was doing, "No, no, I just thought it was weird"
Ryan smirked and waited for her to finish her sandwich before grabbing it, she turned at him, "Then if you think I'm such a weirdo, maybe I should start watching cooking TV shows, because it's obvious that they are less weird than medical shows"
Before she could say anything he was already walking though the door that lead back inside the hotel, "And you really can't blame Troy for stealing your lunch, this is awesome" he said with his mouth full before disappearing.
Gabriella huffed again and started to make another one but saw the cheese was missing, she dropped what she was holding and walked inside the house but not before saying, "If anyone dares to touch this one, I'm gonna show you why I watch police TV shows. And I mean it Chad!"
"I'm sorry" Sharpay said when Troy stopped in front of her.
"For what?" Troy asked calmly, focusing his blue eyes on her not letting her look away.
"I…shouldn't have ended things with you without hearing your arguments"
Troy nodded and looked down, "So…what made you change your mind about us?"
"Ryan, Gabriella, the lies I put in between you, me and your friends, a bit of everything" she said not noticing her words.
But Troy did, he looked up abruptly when he heard the word lies, "What lies, Sharpay?"
Sharpay widened her eyes finally realizing what she had said, she shook her head and looked down.
"What lies, Sharpay?" Troy demanded when she refused to answer.
Sharpay looked up at him slowly, "I…I was the one who made your friends apologize to you"
"What? What do you mean?" Troy asked confused, his anger vanishing.
"I bullied Gabriella into making your friends apologize to you"
Troy looked away and swallowed hard, he cleared his throat and asked slowly, "Okay, and why would you do that?"
"I…I'm sorry Troy" she stuttered.
"You still haven't said why"
"Was it because you wanted to break-up with me and couldn't have the guts to tell me the real reason for it so you came up with this thing about my friends because you knew they wouldn't accept you?" He demanded when she refused to answer again.
"No, Troy, no, it's nothing like that" Sharpay said frantically.
"Then what is it?"
"I…I thought that that was what you wanted, so I went there and did what I figured was the right thing to do, even…even if I had to sacrifice my own happiness because of it" Sharpay said shakily.
"You didn't have…" he started but she cut him off.
"Yes I did Troy! It may have been hidden by the way we felt towards each other but deep down you resented me because I had stolen you away form your friends and you were so wrapped up on that feeling that you didn't saw how much it hurt me, it was then that I saw we could never be truly together unless you had their acceptance, so I broke it off with you and asked Gabriella to make up with you, that's why" she said desperately.
Troy swallowed and felt his throat start closing, "Why didn't you say something?"
"Oh God, Troy, please, you and I both know that talking about feelings and stuff isn't one of my best skills"
Troy smiled despite himself, he had to, she looked so cute when she was distraught.
"What are you smiling about?" Sharpay asked seeing his face.
He chuckled and shook his head looking to the floor, "Nothing"
"Do you forgive me?" She asked when he didn't say anything else.
Troy looked up at her with a smirk on his face, "Do you think I'm so idiot, Sharpay?"
Sharpay gulped down her tears and turned her back on him, "I think that's a no then" she said walking away not caring with the tears slowly making their way down her cheeks.
"Do you think I'm so idiot to the point I wouldn't forgive the girl I'm in love with?" He called after her.
Sharpay stopped dead on her tracks and almost pinched herself to be sure she wasn't hearing things.
"Answer me, Sharpay" Troy whispered into her ear over her shoulder. She definitely wasn't hearing things or dreaming.
She turned around to look into his eyes but before she could do what he asked, he pulled her up to his level and kissed her senseless.
Her eyes closed instantly and she sighed into his mouth before wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing herself even closer.
If it wasn't for the lack of air, they wouldn't have broken the kiss, but Troy seriously needed to breathe or he would collapse, so he pulled away and looked down at her.
Sharpay's eyelids fluttered open and she gazed up at him, Troy gulped down waiting for her to say something.
She just smiled at his nervousness before leaning up to pant softly in his ear, "Just for the record, the girl is in love with you too" then she grabbed his face and kissed him again.