Too Late, a high school musical fanfic

TOO LATE.

This is the alternate version of JUST IN TIME. The beginning is the same it changes when the families and friends get to the train station. Hope you like it.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own F**kin' Perfect by P!nk, Keep Holding On by Avril Lavinge, I'm Only Me When I'm With You by Taylor Swift or High School Musical. I only own Scarlett Sisters, Natalie and Jack Bolton, Kate and Chris Danforth, Craig Baylor and Sara Cross.

Natalie Bolton sat in her room listening to her parents gush over her twin brother, Jack's winning shot at the basketball game earlier that day. He best friend Kate Danforth came in. "Sorry I couldn't be here earlier. I had to drag Dad and Chris off the phone." Both girls laughed. Natalie's parents were Troy and Gabriella Bolton, and Kate's parents were Chad and Taylor Danforth . Chris was her twin brother. And both girls were always exasperated with the lack of attention from both parental units.

"Speaking of which how did your Mum's case go?" Natalie asked. "Good, she won. Your finished marking yet?" Kate replied. "Congrats to her and nope. She's procrastinating as usual." Taylor was a successful lawyer where as Gabriella was English teacher and Chad and Troy were basketball coaches. Gabriella, Chad and Troy all worked at East High which the four teenagers attended.

The two were listening to songs playing on Natalie's iPod while doing homework when Chris and Jack walked in. "Piss off you two. We're trying to do homework before the parents go mental." Snapped Kate. "If you were special like us they would write you a not to get out of it." came Chris's reply. "Well, when you need help studying for your year eleven exams don't come to us." Shot back Natalie.

A few days later Natalie called Kate. "I can't take this anymore, Kate. I have to leave. Kate replied with "I'm coming you. Meet me at Market Street Train Station." Both girls hung up and quickly packed the basics. Natalie walked down stairs quietly she was nearly out the door when Troy spotted her. "I thought I told you-" Natalie cut him off "I don't care. You know why? I feel like I'm not even part of this family! I've given up trying to please you because it is evident that Jack is the only one who can. It's always Jack this, Jack that. I'm sick of it!" She picked up the suitcase and slammed the door behind her. Natalie walked down the driveway and along the pathway ignoring the calls behind her to stop.

Across town Karta managed to slip out of the house without anyone noticing. Her good luck ended however when she bumped into Craig Baylor, jack and Chris's best friend. "Tell anyone and you're dead, Baylor." She hissed as she continued to walk to the train station.

Craig looked worriedly at Kate's retreating figure. Starting to run he headed to the Danforth's house. He got there just as they were leaving and as the Bolton's pulled up. "I saw Kate. I don't know where she's heading though." He told them. Chad and Troy swore. " You guys really should pay attention to Facebook then. It says on both of their status that they are at the Market Street Station." A new voice called out. Everyone turned to see Sara Cross standing there. Jack held out his hand and said "Come on. You're coming with us."

Kate and Natalie sat in the train station silently absorbing that it was really happening that they were really leaving. The train pulled up and they stood and joined the crowd getting onto the train. Hearing their names being called the girls looked at each other and shook their heads. It was too late to go back. For things to go back how it was before their brothers go big headed. They grabbed a couple of window seats and sat down. They spotted their parents scanning the windows of the train looking for them. Craig spotted Kate and moved towards the train. The doors slid shut. Stopping the distraught families and friends from catching them.

Two years later Natalie and Kate were known now as the Scarlett Sisters. They were performing back in their hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. And both were nervous as hell. Taking a few deep breaths they walked out onto the stage. "Thank you, for coming out tonight. The next song is called Fuckin' Perfect." Natalie said and Kate began to sing. As the song progressed they expressed the sadness they felt and the longing to see their family. Unknown to them Jack, Chris, Craig and Sara were in the crowd watching. The four teenagers heard some irritated voices behind them. They turned and saw their parents walking though the crowd. Sara looked at the Bolton and Danforth parents and said "Look at the stage." Gasps and exclamations of shock followed Sara's statement. Natalie and Kate reached the final chorus:

Ooh, pretty pretty pretty,
Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel
Like you're less then, fuckin' perfect
Pretty pretty please if you ever ever feel
Like you're nothing you're fuckin' perfect, to me
You're perfect
You're perfect
Pretty, pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less then, fucking perfect
Pretty, pretty please if you ever ever feel like you're nothing you're fucking perfect to me

As they finished they spotted their family watching. They both nodded. They knew which songs to sing. Kate began to speak: "When we were seventeen we left home, we ran away. We haven't seen out family or friends since then. They're here tonight. These next two songs are for all of you."

You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand
When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I won't give in
No I won't give in

Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

Chad and Taylor looked at their daughter and her best friend singing their hearts out on stage in front of millions of people all around the world. They couldn't of been more proud.

So far away
I wish you were here
Before it's too late, this could all disappear
Before the doors close
And it comes to an end
With you by my side I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend
Yeah, yeah

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other. They figured out why they had left and they understood. They just wanted their little girl back.

Hear me when I say, when I say I believe
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Jack looked at his feet then back at the stage. Every mean thing he had ever said to his sister ran though his head. He wished he could turn back time.

La da da da
La da da da
La da da da da da da da da

Chris looked at Jack and saw him shuffle his feet. He knew exactly what he was feeling. The exact same one was going though him at the same time. He wished he hadn't been so self absorbed.

Keep holding on
Keep holding on

Craig and Sara looked at each other and then at the families, the memories of the days after the girls ran away running though their heads. They didn't want to go through that again.

There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

They finished singing and looked at the crowd. "Hit it guy's." Natalie called to the band. The opening music for I'm Only Me When I'm With You filled the air.

Friday night beneath the stars
In a field behind your yard
You and I are painting pictures in the sky
But sometimes we don't say a thing
Just listen to the crickets sing
Everything I need
And I know everything about you
I don't wanna live without you

Natalie thought back over the past two years. She had changed so much. Would they like it? Would they hate it? She wasn't sure. Natalie was starting to think that maybe the performance in Albuquerque was a bad idea.

And I'm only up when you're not down
Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground
It's like no matter what I do
Well it drives me crazy half the time
The other half I'm only trying to let you know
That what I feel is true
And I'm only me when I'm with you

Zeke and Sharpay Baylor and Jason and Kelsi Cross stood in the crowd near their own daughter or son carefully watching the Bolton and Danforth families. They had convinced Chad and Troy that they were seeing Bon Jovi perform and Taylor and Gabriella that they were seeing Delta Goodrem perform. They just hoped that the planning didn't go downhill.

Just a small town boy and girl
Living in a crazy world
Trying to figure out what is and isn't true
And I don't try to hide my tears
My secrets or my deepest fears
Through it all nobody gets me like you do
And you know everything thing about me
You say that you can't live without me

Kate spotted the Baylors and Crosses watching the other two families carefully and realized that they had been tricked. Smothering a laugh she watched as her Dad had a quick and obviously annoyed argument with Jason and Zeke.

Natalie and Kate looked at each other and knew that the game was up. They couldn't avoid their families now. They just hoped that they weren't mad. And that they were proud of them.

Natalie and Kate walked out dressed casually in jeans and a hoodie to where their families were sitting. Jack and Chris were the first to spot them. They quickly stood up and gathered the girls into a hug. Troy, Gabriella, Taylor and Chad quickly followed suit. No words were needed. They knew that both sides were forgiven by the other.

Stories were exchanged and really bad jokes (courtesy of Jack, Chris, Craig and Chad) were told. Kate and Natalie suddenly stood up and said "Craig Baylor and Sara Cross You to better begin to run cause you two are dead!" Laughing the four nineteen year olds began to chase each other. The Bolton's and Danforths looked at the Baylors and Crosses and said "Thank you."

Chris walked over to Natalie and said softly "Hey, Girlfriend." Natalie looked up "Really?" Chris nodded "Yes, I never got over you Nat." She smiled and reached up and kissed him.

Jack wrapped an arm around Sara's shoulders and they both smiled at each other and Jack leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

Craig caught Kate around the waist and held her close to him. "Be my girlfriend?" He whispered to her. Kate smiled and said "Yes." He smiled and kissed her.

Life went back to some form of normal. Sharpay and Zeke continued teaching Drama and Home Economics respectively. Jason and Kelsi went back to work as a doctor and teaching music. Troy and Gabriella remained in contact with their famous daughter and continued coaching basket ball and teaching English. Chad and Taylor continued to coach basketball and practising law. They also kept in contact with Kate. Sara and Jack joined the girls on tour. Jack claiming so he could keep his sister and girlfriend safe but Natalie reckons that it is so he can annoy her and spend time with Sara. Sara joined the girls as a singer and dancer. Chris also joined them on tour also claiming protection but secretly just wanted to annoy his sister and make sure no other guys tried to get to Natalie. Craig claimed the same as Jack and Chris but just wanted to make sure no other toerags hit on his girlfriend.

Overall, life was good for everyone. And everyone learnt that it is never too late to patch things up.

Just to clear things up:
1. Natalie and Chris had been dating before she ran away.
2. Jack and Sara had been dating since the beginning.
3. I only brought Sharpay, Zeke, Kelsi, and Jason in this version because they fit better in this one.
4. Scarlett Sister became a trio with the addition of Sara.
5. At my school they have Home Economics which is where you cook, sew, and learn about healthy food.
6. Natalie and Kate realized that Craig and Sara had been involved in bringing their families to the concert. (That was when they said they were dead.)
7. Craig and Kate only began dating at the end of the story.
8. The song Keep Holding On means keep holding on to the fact things might change. The song I'm Only Me When I'm With You means that Natalie and Kate are only truly themselves when they are with their family and friends.
9. The Baylors and Crosses kept tabs on where the Scarlett Sisters performed once they figured out that Natalie and Kate were part of the group. That's how they knew that they were performing in Albuquerque.

Wow, seven pages. Sorry, it's so long but its ended the way I wanted it to.

Please Review.