Author's Note: I'm writing this now to get it out of the way, so I hope you enjoy it. Please review.
Disclaimer: I only own my mind at ten at night and the plot.
Caffeine
By musiclover94 and mwhisperatthedarkness
Troy stared at the page in front of him, as if hoping the four-page research paper would write itself. He had barely anything down, just about a page and a half. He groaned and put his head in his arms, trying to clear his fuzzed-up cranium. The effort was fruitless. He sighed, thinking of what to do. He chanced a glance at his wristwatch: it was one in the morning. He rubbed his eyes and little multicolored dots appeared in his line of vision.
And then the answer came to him, in one glorious wave of consciousness. He pulled himself up and went to the pantry cabinet, Holder of the Glorious Caffeine. He pulled open the doors and was met with…a cabinet filled with his mother's weight-loss granola bars. Had there ever been a worse tragedy in the history of mankind? He couldn't pull an all-nighter without the simple necessity of Coca-Cola!?
His, brother, Mark was behind this. He just knew it. Why does he need so much caffeine when he's in fifth grade?! Goodness knows…
He paced the hardwood floor, thinking of what to do. With every footfall, his head felt like it was going to burst. He must be having an aneurysm or something… (A/N: NO OFFENSE TO PEOPLE WITH ANEURYSMS!)
"Oh, wait," he said, almost hitting his head because of his own stupidity, but refraining, "I can just get coffee!"
And without further ado, he got his keys and quietly slipped out the door, careful not to wake the other sleeping Boltons. Before he did, he grabbed a slip of paper and quickly wrote a shopping list. It said…
To the tune of "Girlfriend"
HEY HEY YOU YOU, GO GET ME SOME COLLLA
As he was backing out of the driveway, he thought, Is Starbucks even open?! It must be though, anything was possible these days. And he needed caffeine; it was basically the stuff he ran off of.
He locked the car, the beep certifying that it was sealed echoed through the night air, sending owls hooting away from it. Owls…in downtown Albuquerque? This place never ceased to amaze him. He turned a corner, almost fainting from lack of fuel. And then, Heaven appeared. It seemed surprisingly crowded, for a little after 1 a.m. He quickly pulled open the Gates and slipped inside. A sea of beret-clad heads lay before him. He parted through the crowd toward the counter. He ordered just about the most caffeine you can have, a Venti with extra shots (A/N: Yeah, I don't go to Starbucks that often, so I don't know which beverage has the most caffeine.)
And there it was. The Sacred Item, the Symbol of All Things Good came toward him. He could almost hear angels singing as the cashier handed it to him. He thanked her and turned around, aiming to get out of there. He wasn't the coffeehouse type, but as her was almost to the door, he saw what everyone was looking at, even the worker behind the Sacred Counter. It was a blonde someone, wearing a black hoodie with the hood down, so the universal purpose was lost. She was strumming on an acoustic guitar, each strum like a piece of hail falling from the heavens.
Sharpay Evans, Ice Queen and All-Around Thespian was playing guitar. In a coffeehouse. And not singing something from a musical. He looked down at the Miracle Beverage, thinking some weird chemical was in it. But it looked as heavenly as ever, untainted with. Now he could hear what she was singing…
I'm jaded but oh so lovely
All you have to do is hold me
And you'll know and you'll see just how sweet it can be
If you'll trust me, love me, let me
Maybe, maybe
Someday
When we're at the same place
When we're on the same road
When it's okay to hold my hand
Without feeling lost
Without all the excuses
When it's just because you love me, you let me, you need me
Then maybe, maybe
All you have to do is hold me
And you'll know and you'll see just how sweet it can be
If you'll trust me, love me, let me
Maybe, maybe
I'm confusing as hell
I'm north and south
And I'll probably never have it all figured out
But what I know is I wasn't meant to walk this world without you
And I promise I'll try
Yeah I'm gonna try to give you every little part of me
Every single detail you missed with your eyes
Then maybe
Maybe, yeah maybe
One day
We'll meet again and you'll need me, you'll see me completely
Every little bit
Oh yeah maybe you'll love me, you'll love me then
I don't want to be tough
And I don't want to be proud
I don't need to be fixed and I certainly don't need to be found
I'm not lost
I need to be loved
I just need to be loved
I just want to be loved by you and I won't stop 'cause I believe
That maybe, yeah maybe
Maybe, yeah maybe
I should know better than to touch the fire twice
But I'm thinking maybe, yeah maybe you might
Maybe, love maybe
She ended the song to thunderous applause by the coffeehouse-goers. She said thank you and cracked a smile, a real smile, not like the ones she pulled at school. And then he saw a new Sharpay, one who…played guitar at one in the morning in coffee houses. And, somehow, he liked that version a lot better.
She was stepping off the stage, her guitar still around her shoulders, smiling at the occasional hyper fan.
"Well, well, well," Troy smiled, standing right behind Sharpay.
She spun around, looking frightened. "Bolton! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"So. You play guitar?"
"Yeah. So what?" she asked defiantly.
"I thought it was all theatre 24/7 with you."
"I can't be acting all the time! How else would I keep up my," she threw he hair back exaggeratedly. "stunning appearance."
"You do have a point there." Troy laughed.
"And what are you doing here?" she questioned.
"I had to pull an all-nighter for a paper I'm writing, and we didn't have any caffeine in the house, so I went here."
"Intriguing," Sharpay said mysteriously.
"I intrigue everyone I meet," Troy said grinning and taking a sip of the Magical Elixer, warmth and happiness filling him up.
"Shouldn't you be finishing up that paper?"
"Oh, you're right!" he said, remembering suddenly.
"Wait…" Sharpay said, catching him, "What are your secerts?"
Troy looked around them mysteriously, making sure no one could hear them. He leaned in, Sharpay following suit. "You really want to know?"
"Yeah!" Sharpay said, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.
"Really?" He could barely keep the laughter out of his voice.
"Yes! Now spit it out!"
He leaned in closer and kissed her. She pulled back after their lips connected, looking scandalized. "What was that for?"
"That's the secret," he grinned, under the influence of the Elixer.
"Just go and write your paper, Bolton," she scowled and headed out the door.
"You're leaving?"
One of her hands was on the glass-paneled door. She stopped, :I don't live here, you know." She smiled a wry smile ay him.
"You don't?"
Sharpay turned her head so she was facing him. "There are lots of things you don't know about me, Troy Bolton." Maybe it was just the Magical Beverage doing its thing, but he could swear that Sharpay winked at himk. And with that, she let go of the Gateway to Heaven and walked out into the night.
Author's Note: I did not write that sing, it belongs to Kelly Clarkson. It's called Maybe. Like the song from Annie, but it's not. :D Please review!
