Twin Flames

A High School Musical fanfiction

by

GimmeABeat

beta'd by karazoel

Time period: Set during HSM 2, but there's also some time travel involved.

Setting: Albuquerque, the place doesn't change, just the time frame

Summary: Twin Flames are literally the other half of your soul for which all souls are driven to find and join. Sharpay is up to her scheming ways in trying to get Troy Bolton, the hottest guy at East High. However a oddly familiar archeological find draws them into a mystical Indian curse that changes their lives forever.

Warning: There is significant Troy/Gabriella and Sharpay/Other, but don't worry, this will be TroyPay.

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. This fanfiction is based upon the Disney movie High School Musical. All characters and situations other than my own are sole property of Disney Corporation [Copyright©2006,2007,2008].

Chapter 1: Everything Changes

"But it's summer, Ry. Everything changes."

- Sharpay Evans, High School Musical 2

Sharpay Evans took the turn off the main road at 50 mph and fishtailed the Mustang convertible before revving up the engine to regain the lost speed. It was the first day of summer vacation and she was in a fabulous mood. Due to her thoughtful intervention, Troy Bolton, primo boy at East High, secured a summer job at her family's country club. It was the perfect set-up. By the end of the summer, he would be hers.

She smiled over at Ryan who was looking paler than normal. "Don't you love the feel of the wind when we drive really fast, Ry?" The tanned blonde easily down shifted the manual transmission as they started to climb the steep hill. The winding and picturesque desert landscape was a private road which led directly to the gates of their home-away-from-home for the summer, The Lava Springs Country Club.

Ryan's pale complexion started to turn a little green as the Mustang gathered speed. "I-I think you might want to think about slowing down so we'll make it to the club in one piece." The combination of whipping wind, the blasting radio and the extreme speed of the car forced Ryan to yell any conversation with his sister.

"No prob, baby brother. I've driven this road so many times I could do it blindfolded." She looked over at Ryan who had his hand clamped onto his head, holding his signature hat on, and almost laughed. Sometimes he acted so geeky it was hard to believe they were related, let alone twins.

"S-stop looking at me, Shar!", Ryan whined. "Keep your eyes on the road!"

"Oh Ryan, stop being such a Darbus", Sharpay replied as she nonchalantly swept her hair out of her eyes. Six months ago, the co-president of the East High Drama Club would never have considered disparaging the name of their beloved sponsor. However, that was before Ms. Darbus betrayed everything Sharpay held dear by letting those outsiders into her theater. Now all bets were off.

So wrapped up in her thoughts of disgust for all things theatrical, she barely heard Ryan shouting and looked up just in time to slam on the brakes with such force that the car slid sideways before coming to a halt crossways in the middle of the road. The near accident left two stripes on the blacktop and the putrid smell of burning rubber wafting in the air.

"What the hell?", Sharpay shouted indignantly.

While at the same time, Ryan inquired shakily, "Are you alright, Sharpay?"

"Fine! I'm just fine!", she snapped while flinging off her seatbelt and stepping out of the car with an air of intense indignation. Staring straight ahead at the line of people blocking the road, she added unnecessarily, "But they won't be!" She ripped the white scarf off her head and marched over to the closest Native American.

For standing in the middle of the roadway, completely blocking the entrance to the exclusive country club, stood twenty or more people. Some of them were wearing traditional Native American ceremonial garb, including feathered headdresses, bells and moccasins. Everyone either carried large banners or signs attached to sticks. All of these media broadcast the same message to the world via the diligent work of one lone local television reporter and her cameraman. That message was that the local Pueblo Indian nation objected most fiercely to the planned expansion of the club's golf course.

Before Sharpay made it to the protest line, the perky young reporter jammed a microphone in her face and asked for a comment. At first, Sharpay was irritated at this woman's unwelcome interruption of the ire that she planned on lambasting at the Indians. An instant later Sharpay saw two of her most favorite things in the world: a microphone and a video camera. Therefore, the patented Sharpay Evans sneer transformed into a most delightful smile. She was ready for her closeup.

"Miss Evans, Miss Evans! Andrea Stephens, KROC News Channel 8, could you share your opinion of current situation?", the brunette woman asked excitedly.

Sharpay removed her oversized white sunglasses and smiled benevolently, directly into the camera. "Of course, Andrea", Sharpay spoke as if they were lifelong pals. "It's simply a question of misinformation. My father, owner of Lava Springs Country Club, wants to expand his golf course onto land which he owns. Unfortunately, these misguided people, for some unknown reason, feel they actually have a say..."

Before Sharpay could finish her lengthy explanation, an older Native American man walked over from the picket line and interrupted. "Excuse me, but she is misdirecting the truth, which is what we have been trying to explain." He had high-cheek bones, deep-set ebony eyes and bronze weathered skin. His salt and pepper hair was worn long and tied into a pony tail which flowed down his back. He wore blue jeans, cowboy hat and boots. In other words, he looked like half of the blue-collar workers one would encounter in New Mexico.

"This is Chief Richard Sanchez of the Sandia Pueblo Nation", explained Andrea.

Chief Sanchez continued, "These lands are sacred to the Pueblo people and Vance Evans is ..."

It was Sharpay's turn to interrupt. "...is improving the local economy by employing your people to build our golf course. And if you play your cards right, maybe some of you could get jobs waiting tables or caddying at the course." Turning to face the camera, Sharpay continued happily, "We're an equal opportunity employer."

"You're an equal opportunity racist!", shouted a young Caucasian man who came running forward carrying a sign which read, "Down with Greedy Materialism". He was dressed in a ratty, threadbare t-shirt, ripped jeans and worn tennis shoes. He obviously hadn't shaved or bathed in many days. In other words, he looked distressed, but purposely so.

"Oh, pu-leeze!", Sharpay shot back. "You're no more Indian than I am. Daddy told me all about you people. You're one of those professional protestors! Next week you'll probably be marching in front of the World Bank. And BTW, you're not fooling anyone with scratty look. Your clothes may be shabby, but everyone can see that's a Rolex on your wrist." She winked at the cameraman and pointed to the young man's left arm. Then she turned back to the older Native American. "Hey, Chief! How 'bout you move this line and let me through before I call Daddy."

Sharpay strutted back to her car and slid into the seat with a satisfied look on her face. Ryan sat slumped in the passenger seat with his hat pulled down over his eyes.

"Oh, sit up straight, Ryan. You look like you're embarrassed to be seen with me."

Ryan raised an eyebrow at this remark, but wisely decided to say nothing.

Sharpay put the car in gear and was just about to pull forward when an ancient Pueblo woman appeared from out of nowhere at her window. Her dark skin was deeply etched with wrinkles and her lips disappeared into her toothless mouth, adding to her shriveled appearance. She was bone thin, but surprisingly strong when she latched onto Sharpay's forearm which was propped on the door of the Mustang. In heavily accented English, she rasped, "Beware the stone!"

"Let go of me!", Sharpay whined, trying unsuccessfully to pull her arm away from the old lady.

The old woman continued as if Sharpay hadn't said anything. "Your future lies in the past. Beware the stone! Beware Kokopelli!"

"Look, old woman! Get away from my car before I run you down." Sharpay pulled away abruptly causing the old woman to stumble backwards, luckily to be caught by Chief Sanchez.


Richard Sanchez looked her over with concern. "Are you alright, Grandmother?", he asked in their native Tiwan language.

The old shaman wasn't a blood relation. Sanchez used the term Grandmother as a term of respect for an elder of the tribe. In fact at 97 years old, she was the oldest living member at the pueblo. She had been a much respected shaman when his own grandfather was a boy. She was said to be a direct descendent of Popé, the religious leader who led the great Pueblo Revolt of 1680 against colonization of the Spanish. And most importantly, she was said to have 'the sight'.

"I am fine, but I am not so certain about her." She held out a shaky finger, indicating the pink Mustang which was whizzing up the road. "She is the one, the one in my visions."

"Are you sure?"

"The visions are never wrong."

Sanchez exhaled slowly as he helped the old woman back across the road. There wasn't anything he could do about the visions or about the Evans girl. If there was one thing he had learned in his time on this earth, Grandmother's visions could not be changed even if that is what you desired.


The Lava Springs emblem, an embossed L and S, occupying the diagonal quadrants of a Native American inspired geometric seal, sat at the center point of two large metal gates. These gates shut out the rest of the world from Albuquerque's most exclusive country club. As the pink Mustang approached, the gates automatically opened allowing two of its more important members to enter.

"Wow, that was weird", Ryan commented as he sat back up in the seat and checked the positioning of his hat in the car's vanity mirror.

"It's just like Daddy said, Ryan", his sister commented. "There's the haves and the have-nots. We're the haves and the have-nots think we should feel guilty about it."

"Huh? I'm talking about that weird old woman, not the protestors. Although, I'm thinking of coming with Dad in the chopper tomorrow. It bothers me to cross that protest line."

"See what I mean. They're making you feel guilty about what our father has worked so hard for."

"Shar, he inherited his money and so did his father, and his father before him."

"Oh, whatever... You know what I mean."

"I'm afraid I do", mumbled Ryan to himself and then, more loudly said, "But what about that old woman? What did she say to you? I couldn't hear anything."

"You were too busy hiding under your hat", Sharpay quipped. "She just said some spooky shit that was supposed to scare me. Well, it didn't. It didn't scare me one bit", she added bravely. She reached down and quietly rubbed her arm where the woman had held her. The fingermarks were beginning to fade, but it felt as if they were holding her still. "And besides, Daddy is allowing those archaeologists access to the club."

"You're right", Ryan admitted. "But he's only letting them in because of public relations. I mean after the construction workers started finding artifacts, Dad kinda had to stop and let them investigate."

"Whatever...", she replied flippantly. "I don't much like golf anyway. And besides, if everything else goes as planned, I just know it's going to be a fabulous summer."


"So how's Taylor doing?", Troy asked his best friend, Chad Danforth.

It was their second day of summer vacation which meant it was their second day of working eight hours a day in the hot kitchen of the Lava Springs Country Club. The work was hard, but most of his friends were here too, so Troy found that he actually enjoyed it. Plus his girlfriend, Gabriella, worked as one of the lifeguards even if she didn't work with him directly.

He and Chad were rolling the silverware into starched white napkins in preparation for the lunch rush. The busy hustle and bustle of the kitchen provided constant background noise, competing slightly with their conversation.

Chad smiled as he thought of his girlfriend, Taylor McKessie, one of the undisputed brainiacs of their school. "She's great. Taylor really likes working with her uncle. She isn't making any money, of course, but it's great work experience and will look great on her college apps."

"Yeah, I can imagine, finding undiscovered riches, gold doubloons, ancient treasures. Sounds really cool."

"That's all wrong, man. That's Hollywood. Real life is digging in the dirt for twelve hours a day with a toothbrush, according to Taylor. But it's really important work, so she's really excited about it."

"Yeah, I can't believe the golf course was built on top of an Indian burial ground. That's kind of creepy."

"That's also kind of false, Mr. Bolton", Fulton said as he swooped up behind them from out of nowhere. He had an irritating habit of doing that. "The expansion of the Lava Springs golf course may, and it's a big may, be on some sort of Native American artifacts. There's as much of a chance of finding a burial ground here as there is in your own backyard. However... be that as it may, the Evans family has graciously agreed to allow an archaeological investigation on the property in order to assuage any difficulties with the Pueblo Nation. By the way, what does any of that have to do with the proper folding of table linens?"

"Nothing, sir", Troy replied quickly. "It's just that Chad's girlfriend is working at the dig site."

"That's right, Mr. Fulton, your Honor. She's an intern. Her uncle is the lead archaeologist."

"Well, isn't that special", Fulton noted sarcastically. "Now, get back to work! And no more talking!"


Despite a rocky beginning of summer vacation, Sharpay bounced back quickly after learning of how Fulton misunderstood her order to hire Troy. That idiot club manager had hired Troy alright, along with most of high school basketball team plus his girlfriend, Gabriella Montez.

She could work around this though. After all, she was Sharpay Evans and she was nothing if not resilient. The first step was to make herself helpful to his future. Thanks to Daddy's position on the Board of Directors at the University of Albuquerque, that step was well underway. He had already met the U of A Red Hawk's basketball coach and most importantly, he had promised in front of her entire family to sing with her.

Step two of her plan involved separating Troy out of the pack. And that, she knew, could best be accomplished with the help of Italian leather, in the form of a pair of very expensive golf shoes. Troy had readily accepted his promotion to assistant golf pro.

The next step was for Sharpay, herself, to sign up for lessons.


The golf lesson was going well as Sharpay noted with satisfaction how his hands lingered on her hips after she took a swing.

"You're doing really well, Sharpay. You're a natural."

"Oh, don't be so modest, Troy. It's all in your instruction", Sharpay responded in kind. Aware that they were being watched, she leaned in closer and whispered, "You have great hands."

Chad and Gabriella stood just off the putting green, observing the lesson.

"I wouldn't worry if I were you", Chad said as they watched Sharpay as she laughed at something Troy said.

"Oh, I'm not worried", Gabriella replied just a little too quickly.

"Good, 'cuz Troy knows who his friends are … oh, and his girlfriend too. He, definitely, knows who you are."

"Thanks, Chad." She graced him with a half-hearted smile and a shy tilt of her head.

Chad's cellphone rang, temporarily interrupting any further discussion. "It's Taylor", Chad commented as his girlfriend's picture popped up on his screen.

"Hey, babe. What's up?", Chad asked and his face became serious as he listened intently to what she was saying.

"Right now? ... Yeah, sure. It's almost our lunchtime anyway. ... Whoa, whoa, whoa... You want us to bring Sharpay? Are you sure about that? ... Well, alright. I'll try. ... Right, we'll be there in a few. Bye." He closed the phone.

"It's the weirdest thing..." Chad was talking to Gabriella in an odd, far-away voice, but continuing to stare at Troy and Sharpay who were still on the green.

"What's wrong?", Gabriella asked.

"Taylor wants us: you, me, Troy, Ryan, and get this, Sharpay, to come over to the dig site. She says she's found something really important and it concerns Sharpay."

"Sharpay? What could it be?"

"No idea, but we'll need to hurry if we don't want Fulton to catch us."


"Oh goody, we're here", Sharpay announced as she, Troy and Gabriella stepped out of Troy's pickup truck. At first Sharpay was completely opposed to tramping out to a dirty archaeological site. However, upon further consideration, she knew it would be a great opportunity to bond with her 'school chums', as her mother had phrased it. In truth, of course, she had realized that Troy was driving and this would be an great opportunity to sit pressed up against him on the bench seat of his truck. She hadn't counted on Gabriella being there too, but even her unpleasant presence hadn't deterred the intrepid blonde, especially when Sharpay was the one next to Troy and Gabriella sat pressed up so close to the door that it looked like she would fall out.

Ryan pulled up seconds later in a Lava Springs Jeep Cherokee with Chad.

"Are you sure this isn't some sort of set-up by those protestors?", Sharpay asked Chad.

"I'm not sure about anything, except that Taylor said we needed to get over here ASAP", Chad replied.

Looking around, it looked like a typical construction site, not an earth-shattering archaeological dig site. A couple of vehicles sat in a makeshift parking lot, along side the requisite porta-John, and a beat-up travel trailer with so much dust and dirt on it that it was difficult to say what color the thing was underneath. And further up a small slope, sat the bulldozer where it had sat parked since uncovering the artifacts.

As they were taking all this in, the trailer opened and tall African American man stepped out. He had short mostly gray hair and wore khaki pants and work shirt which were covered in a fine dust. He approached them with a congenial smile on his face. "You must be Taylor's friends. I'm her uncle, Mike McKessie. Just call me Dr. Mike, that's what my students call me."

They introduced themselves and Dr. Mike pulled out a walkie-talkie and called Taylor to come and join them. Looking at the stunned looks on their faces, he explained. "So many of our dig sites are in dead zones, so I never trust cell phones. Now just be prepared... Taylor's got a pretty wild hypothesis going on here."

Within the minute, Taylor came bounding over the hilltop, removing her wide-brimmed straw hat as she ran, full of smiles and excitement. She, like her uncle, was also cover in dust. Wearing a "Green is the New Black" t-shirt, blue jean shorts and hiking boots, she looked like she had just come off a 5-mile hike.

"Oh! You made it! And you brought Sharpay! This is just wonderful." Taylor was as giddy as a cheerleader who had just been graced by a smile from Troy Bolton.

"Yeah, wonderful", Sharpay scoffed under her breath. "I have a two o'clock facial scheduled, so if we could just step this up a little..."

"Right, sorry." Taylor seemed uncharacteristically nervous. "Come with me. It's right over here."

They followed her to a canopy which was set up on the backside of the travel trailer. In the middle of the canopy sat a small card table and on the card table sat a small cardboard shoebox. "It's in there", Taylor announced. "We just got it back from the lab today."

Taylor nervously lifted the lid. Simultaneously, all five of the teenagers leaned forward to gaze upon Taylor's momentous discovery. And they kept gazing, waiting for something, anything to happen. For some strange reason Troy had expected to see a jewel-encrusted golden chalice or maybe a priceless diamond necklace. Instead, he saw...

"It's a hunk of rusted metal." Sharpay voiced Troy's thoughts exactly, although he would never admit it to anyone.

"Yes! Isn't it exciting?"

"A hunk of rusted metal is exciting?" Troy knitted his brows in concentration.

"This dig site dates to the pre-Colombian time frame or Pueblo IV as archaeologists categorize it." She looked at her friends … and Sharpay … expectantly. "Don't you get it?" She waited and nothing happened. "Gabriella? Surely you get it, right?"

Gabriella shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, Taylor. I don't know what you're talking about."

"In Pueblo IV, They. Didn't. Have. Metal. Well, actually they did have some copper, but that's beside the point. My point is..."

"Oh, thank God. I didn't think she even had one", Sharpay commented as she fanned herself with a piece of paper she picked up off the table.

"My point is...", Taylor continued while glaring at Sharpay. "This isn't just metal. We had it analyzed and it's made up of copper, iron, nickel, silver, and zinc, with small amounts of aluminum, gold, lead, manganese, palladium, platinum, and tin." She folded her arms over her chest and waited for someone to figure it out.

Gabriella got it first. She blinked once, twice and said, "But that's not possible. Most of those metals aren't native to the southwestern US. And it's not like they have world-wide trading routes then."

"Exactly." Taylor had achieved her 'ah-ha' moment. "But wait, there's more."

"Oh, joy..." This comment, of course, came from Sharpay who was starting to regret coming on this road trip.

"We sent a small scraping of the paint to be tested." She stopped, trying to build the drama.

"And?!" Surprisingly, this exclamation came from quiet Ryan Evans, who was starting to turn bright pink in the heat.

"You're holding the report, Sharpay."

Sharpay looked down at her 'fan' and tried to decipher the scientific jargon. "Is this written in English?"

"I'll just tell you, okay? It's acrylic."

"No!", exclaimed Garbriella who was starting to pick up on Taylor's excitement. "But that's not possible either! Acrylic paint is made by suspending the pigment in an acrylic polymer emulsion. That was only invented about 100 years ago and if it's pre-Colombian it would have to be..."

"From the mid-1500's … exactly", Taylor finished for her.

Sharpay was getting fed up and had decided that using the paint report as a fan was a far better use for it. "So what?! All that means is your time frame is wrong. Somebody dumped this hunk of metal sometimes in the last 100 years. There! Mystery solved! Now let's go find some air conditioning."

"I'm with blondie on that one", chimed in Chad. Visibly no one looked hot, except for Ryan who looked like he was ready to pass out. Because of the low humidity in Albuquerque, people didn't usually perspire much unless they were near the river where the presence of water caused the humidity to rise.

Ignoring Chad, Taylor continued her explanation, speaking directly to Sharpay. "Not possible. The artifact was uncovered at a strata which had lain uncompromised for over 450 years. That's a given."

"Okay, okay... so say you're right. Who cares?" Sharpay was becoming exasperated.

"You do." Taylor looked like she had been waiting for that exact question since this discussion started.

"Me?"

"The percentage of metals exactly matches the composition of the modern cellphone AND the color clip precisely matches the coral pink color of the limited addition Sharp Juicy Couture Sidekick. The exact model that you yourself own, Sharpay."

Sharpay's eyes widened. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. My phone is right here." She reached in her Gucci hobo bag and pulled out her cellphone, holding it up for all to see.

"Y'know, Taylor... that doesn't make a lot of sense", Troy said carefully, not wanting to insult her.

Like a television barker selling the latest and greatest kitchen gadget, Taylor continued enthusiastically. "Wait! There's more! Follow me."

She led the now reluctant group up the short hill to the dig site. White string was laid out in a grid-like pattern about six-inches off the ground, held there by small wooden stakes. Dozens of students sat hunched over different areas with small brushes and notebooks. Taylor skillfully stepped over the grid lines without disturbing them. The others followed, reasoning that humoring her would be the fastest way to get out of the heat. She lead them to a corner where much activity was taking place.

"Take a look at this! But don't touch it", she cautioned. Lying on the ground was a flat stone with lines etched into it. It took a moment to realize what they were seeing.

"It's a stick figure." Sharpay stated in an extremely bored voice.

"I don't feel so good, guys", Ryan announced in wobbly tone.

"It's the heat." Dr. Mike stepped up behind him and led the grateful boy down to the travel trailer.

Getting an idea from her brother, Sharpay echoed his sentiment. "I don't feel so good, either." She started to follow the archaeologist and Ryan.

"Oh no, you don't. This is all for you." Then with the dramatic flare of a stage magician, Taylor carefully blew away the sand from the section of the stone below the figure. There revealed for all to see were the initials, SE.

"This is a joke, right? Right?", Sharpay repeated, sounding a little nervous.

"It's no joke", Taylor said, very seriously.

"You know", Troy said thoughtfully. "That stick figure looks a little like Sharpay. Don't you think?"

Chad had a different opinion. "I think it looks like one of those petroglyphs over at the monument."

"You mean like those cave paintings in France?", Gabriella asked. Gabriella was referring to the caves in Lascaux, France. The complex system of caves in southwestern France contained some of the earliest known art, dating back to somewhere between 13,000 and 15,000 BCE.

"Nah, we got our own right here in Albuquerque. I forgot you haven't lived here that long."

"Or been forced to go on countless field trips to those boring rocks", added Sharpay.

Gabriella's eyes lit up at the thought of learning something new. "That sounds cool. I'd love to see them."

Troy smiled. "I'd love to show them to you. We could go today after work."

"You know, I haven't been there since fifth grade. I'd love to see them too, Troy", Sharpay said as her before unknown interest in prehistoric art announced itself. "We could drive over together. That truck is soooo cozy."

"Hey, guys! Look at the time", Chad pointed to his watch frantically. "We're going to be late getting back. Fulton will be furious."

Sharpay decided to show what a magnanimous person she could be. "Don't worry, Troy. I can handle Fulton. Take your truck back. I'll stay here and drive the Jeep back with Ryan."

"That's really nice of you, Sharpay."

"No problem. What time should we meet for the trip to the petroglyphs?"

"Ummm", Troy shot a fleeting glance over to Gabriella who was pointedly ignoring him. "How about 4:30? We'll have time to look around before it gets dark."

She smiled broadly. "Sounds good. Now, go before you're so late even I can't fix it."


Troy, Chad and Gabriella piled into Troy's battered pick-up truck, this time with Gabriella in the middle. They started off down the road with Troy whacking the dashboard in order to coax the air conditioner into working. It had worked fine on their trip to the site, but had now decided to break at the hottest point in the day.

Giving up on it, he decided to concentrate on his driving. "That was really nice of Sharpay to offer to help us out with Fulton", he commented with forced indifference.

"Y'think?" Gabriella crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed at the suggestion.

"I think she was only offering to help you, singular, not you, plural. As in she wants to help Troy Bolton, not the rest of East High", Chad commented as he tried to roll down the truck window causing the manual crank to break off in his hand. Chad looked down at it with wide eyes and nonchalantly threw the handle into the glove compartment.

"That's not fair, Chad. She's not that bad." That didn't sound convincing, even to him. He decided to try again. "Her family's really nice."

"Hmmph", was the only comment Gabriella made.

Troy decided to change the subject. "What do you think about all that stuff that Taylor said?"

This had the desired effect as Gabriella sat up straighter and became enthusiastic in her explanation of the theories of a space-time continuum and stable wormholes. Surprisingly, Chad seemed equally excited about this prospect and Troy heard him saying something about time machines before he completely tuned them out, noticing instead the lingering scent of Sharpay's perfume in the truck.

TBC

Author's Notes:

Hey, I'm back.

Sorry, this has taken so long. Lots of RL and a particularly research-heavy plotline.

This first chapter is just the setup for what happens next, so keep reading … and reviewing.

Thanks,

j