Sharpay awoke in bliss; it was Valentine's Day. And her boyfriend, Troy Bolton had been planning a surprise date for her. She climbed down the staircase with a smile.
In the living room, she saw her brother sitting in the couch. She noticed the huge bundle of flowers covering most of their furniture. She beamed.
"Morning, Ryan! Happy Valentine's Day!" She greeted with a huge grin as she sits beside him on the couch
"Morning, Shar. Happy Valentine's Day; oh, and Troy sent these flowers for you along with these chocolates and this teddy bear" Ryan said and then gives the bear and chocolates to Sharpay
"Great! An addition to my Valentine Bear collection!" Sharpay exclaims as she hugs the bear.
Ryan smirked. "How many of those bears do you have?" He asked with a bewildered tone
"Well, I've been dating him for…" Sharpay trails off as she starts to count the years with her fingers- "three…four…five…six… six years! I've been dating him for six years and so I have 6 bears! All with different and very cute outfits!" Sharpay said as a matter-of-factly
"Wow." Was all Ryan could say; Ryan approved of Troy, he was kind, not that bright but bright enough, and he cares for his sister-that's all he could ask for.
"Well, how about you? Where are you taking Gabby?" Sharpay asked as she hugged her knees
Ryan made a thinking face, "Hmm…" he said as he rubbed his chin, "probably go anywhere, I planned a road trip, so we'll just stop over whenever and wherever she wants to. It's her night." Ryan finished.
"Well, that's nice! Gabby does love traveling." Sharpay approved
"Yeah, I know. Just don't tell her, okay? I want it to be a surprise." Ryan solicited
"Yeah, totally. I will not ruin your Valentine's Day, don't worry!" Sharpay said giddily.
--
"…so where is he gonna take me?" Gabriella asked, from the other line of the phone.
Sharpay was lying down on her queen sized bed as she was taking to Gabriella on the phone. She was wearing white shorts and a blue top.
It was 2:30pm; they were off to their dates at 4. They couldn't wait.
"Sorry, Gabriella, you'll have to wait. But I swear that it will be worth waiting for." Sharpay said
"Oh, come on! Please?" Gabriella begged.
Sharpay chuckled; then she heard a knock on her balcony door, it was Troy.
"Oh, Gabs! I have to go! Troy's here. I'll call you back, yeah?" Sharpay asked
"Fine. See ya" Gabriella said as they hang up simultaneously
Sharpay crawled off of her bed and stumbled towards the door. Butterflies in her stomach fluttered stronger each second she gets closer to the door, when her hands reached the doorknob, her heart exploded.
"Hey Pay pay! Happy Valentine's Day!" He said as he embraced her.
"Happy Valentine's Day, to you too! Thanks for the gifts!" Sharpay said as she pulled away from the hug, but her arms stayed behind his neck and his hands were still on her back
"Those are annual gifts, I give those to you every year." He teased
"Yeah, well, I'm still not sick of them! I don't know when I'll be" Sharpay said with a smile.
"Oh, come in, come in!" She said as she slightly pushed Troy into her room.
He sat at the edge of her big bed and she sits beside him.
"So… are you gonna tell me where we're gonna go now?" Sharpay asked hopefully.
"No, I won't. Come on, Shar, just relax! Everything is perfect. Just don't forget to meet me at La Bella Italia, okay?" He said
"Of course." She said. Then, there was silence, and Sharpay broke it. "Hey, do you remember the night we first met during Junior High?"
"Yeah, it was in La Bella Italia. That's why I chose that restaurant in the first place. It has too much sentimental value for us to ignore it" Troy grinned as he wrapped his arm on Sharpay's shoulders.
"Yeah…" Sharpay agreed. Silence fell upon the room.
"This is different; you usually never stop talking during Valentine's Day. Is there something in your mind that you'd like to share?" Troy asked.
"No, I just felt weird all of sudden" Sharpay answered, followed by a soundless gulp.
"What do you mean by weird?" Troy asked as he lay down her bed, resting his arm under his head
"Well, I feel like something bad is gonna happen today." Sharpay answered. As she twisted a little to look Troy in the eye
Troy chuckled. "Shar, nothing bad is gonna happen today, ok? Today might actually be the most important day of your life"
Sharpay smiled, "I guess so."
Suddenly, Troy's cell phone rang, he flipped it open and pressed it against his ear.
"Hello?"
"Sir, the fireworks setting is prepared, is there anything else we can do for you?" The man from the other line of the phone asked
"Oh. Thanks very much. And no, that is all I need. Thanks again" Troy said
"Most certainly, sir, and please, DO tell us how it goes" the man solicited.
"Yes, I will. Thank you" He said as he hung up.
"Who was that?" Sharpay asked
"Just… someone" He said with a smirk.
"Oh, so now you're cheating on me? I'm hurt" Sharpay teased.
"Oh, you bet I am, he has an uglier face than you do"
Sharpay giggled, and then bent down to give him a peck on the cheek.
Troy breathed a sigh of content, he smiled and sat up.
"I have to go" Troy said with a frown.
"What? But you just got here, and…" Sharpay complained.
"It's for our date." Troy cut her off with a grin.
She straightened up from her crouch, "Oh, well, okay" Sharpay said.
"I'll see you later." Troy said
"Yes, you will" Sharpay nodded, then paused, she sighed and looked him in the eye, "I love you, Troy"
"I love you, too" He replied as he opened his arms, signaling her to enter. She did.
They shared the embrace for a moment, but Sharpay pulled away
"You better go." Sharpay said with a forged smile
"Yes, ma'am" Troy replied
"And since you're leaving now, I expect a wonderful date." She said slyly.
"You should, because that's what you'll get" He smiled.
He bent down and gave her a kiss. He pulled away and smiled at her.
"I feel like the luckiest guy on Earth right now. And I'm pretty sure I'll feel stupid for leaving the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen."
She chuckled. "Save the cheesiness for later, Troy. Now, go, and prepare the most perfect night I'm expecting."
"Fine, Bye. I love you" He said as he walked toward her balcony door.
"Love you, too" She said as she sat on her bed.
She did not know why, but she felt down. She felt sorrow in the air.
When she looked at Troy, he glowed and he seemed like the most important thing in the world to her; and when he walked out the door, she felt like he was torn away from her all of a sudden. And when she announced the love she felt for him, she had said with such passion… it was as if it was a need for him to know how she felt at that moment.
--
A few hours had passed and Sharpay was about to leave for her date.
She was wearing a blue silk shirt dress that fell to her knees and silver heels.
She opened her garage door and got her convertible out.
She was driving in a slow pace. She always did drive slow; Troy even complained about it one he agreed to let her drive.
Her hands were clutching the wheel, she felt scared, but she didn't know why.
Her cell phone rang, she looked at the screen and saw Troy's picture in her Caller ID. The feeling of security washed over her completely.
She smiled and picked up her phone. It was just a text message but she opened it anyway.
The road was not too filled with cars so she let herself read the text message freely.
'Hey, Shar, I just finished dressing up and now, I am currently waiting for my Cinderella. See you soon. Drive safely. I love you, bye' it read.
She smiled and she started typing down her reply.
But before she finished, she heard a loud honk in front of her car.
She looked up to see what it was; what she saw did not please her. It was a truck, the driver looked drunk and stoned. She gasped when she had just noticed that this driver was unconscious. She tried to spin the car away from the driver but she was too late.
The humungous truck crashed into the small pink convertible.
--
Troy sat in their table after hours of waiting- well, he is STILL waiting for Sharpay. He began to worry about her
He tapped his fingers impatiently against the wooden table. Everything was set, the violinist was prepared to play for the supposed couple. The whole restaurant was empty- for Troy had reserved the place for the night.
The waiter and the manager were also wondering where the supposed girl had went. They shot worried glances at Troy whenever they have eye-to-eye contact, but Troy just looks away in embarrassment.
Suddenly, Troy's cell phone rang. He flipped it open immediately.
"Sharpay?" He asked eagerly
"Troy, this is Gabriella" She said from the other side of the line
"Gabriella? Why are you calling…?" He asked
"Troy, just shut up and listen for a while," She snapped, her voice was in panic; the kind people sound like when they are about to cry.
Troy suddenly felt worried; Gabriella was worried and close to tears, and Sharpay was missing.
"Okay"
"Listen, Troy, Ryan is in the hospital…" She said
"What? What happened to him?" Troy asked
"It's… not him, Troy… It's Sharpay," She said softly
Troy slammed the table. The silverwares made bell like sounds; "What happened to her?! What happened to Sharpay?" He asked with rage and worry in his voice
"Troy, she was driving on the way to where you were supposed to meet… but during the drive, she… she was hit by a truck" Gabriella said, in a voice so soft that it was close to a whisper.
"WHAT!? Well, is she okay?" Troy asked
The waiter and the manager was listening closely now
"Troy, she's…she's dead" Gabriella said softly, she then burst out in tears.
Troy felt numb and dead. the thought of the most wonderful thing in the world to him being taken away made him feel dead.
He slammed the table one more time then threw it harshly towards the side; then he left without another word.
--
A year had passed since Sharpay's death, it was February 14, and Troy came to visit her grave.
He placed the roses he got for her and sat on the grass. It was times like this when Troy really felt like he was with her. Although he felt her presence every day, it was somehow stronger here.
He sighed and started to speak to her; knowing that she hears every word he says.
"Hey Sharpay, Happy Valentine's Day. I got you the roses; they're white, just like your favorite. I also got you a teddy bear, too. I put it in your room already this morning… how are you? You got a new boyfriend up there?" He teased, "I'm kidding (chuckles), I…uh… guess that your death was very bad timing, huh? I was actually supposed to propose to you last year in La Bella Italia. Oh, and did you know that they posted a picture of you in honor there? It's a beautiful place, Shar." He paused for a minute, and then silent tears rolled down his cheeks.
He pulled out a small box from his pocket, he opened it and it revealed a ring. "This is actually the ring I was supposed to give you; I never show this to anyone ever since the accident, I felt like if I do tell them, they'll pity me. And I don't want that to happen. (sighs) I miss you so much, Sharpay. Every night I dream of you and I still feel like you are sleeping by my side. I felt like I was cradling you in my arms, and I even smell your scent, and your favorite shampoo. I don't want to forget you, Pay. I will love you always and forever. I know you know that. But it feels good to say it out loud, just the same. From now on, I will wear this ring, so everyone who sees it will know about the love we shared and still sharing. Take good care, my dear angel. I love you so much, and I hope you rest in peace" Troy finished, followed by a sigh.
Although he had finished what he had to say, he didn't leave. He just sat there beside 'her'. He felt her presence, he was sure that it was her. The wind started to get stronger and a small pink butterfly flew over to Troy's hand. He smiled,
"Hmm… you still love pink, huh?"