A/N: This story takes place in an alternate universe where Peyton has attended East High with the cast from sophomore year onward.

Troy and Peyton's bromance would have been amazing, and Sharpay could have used Peyton's insight and guidance as the series progressed. We all know she never listened to Ryan.

The title and opening lyrics are from the song, "Hey Princess", by Allstar Weekend, which is very much a Peyton/Sharpay song.

When the movie ends

We could be the ever after

You

And I

.

Peyton isn't at all keen on the idea of Troy following Gabriella to college. He's always found the pair ill-suited for each other, and it bothered him more than he'd ever admit to Troy's face that Gabriella withheld her admission into the Stanford Freshman Honors Program from Troy, presumably to put off moving away to accept the early enrollment as long as possible, only to bail on going to the prom with Troy for, in Peyton's mind, what could only be selfish and stupid reasons.

He's pretty sure he's the only person that objects to Troy's decision. Aside from Ryan, who seemed to be frowning in the happy couple's direction as Troy brought Gabriella forward and showed her off to the delightedly cooing audience. But, instead of talking Troy out of something Peyton is certain will have lasting, life-ruining ramifications, it's East High's theater queen that Peyton seeks out when the curtain closes on their final show at the school.

She put on a brave face and graciously took her brother into a congratulatory hug when Ryan and the Drama Club's tiny composer, Kelsi Nielsen, were awarded the scholarships to Juilliard. But, Peyton knows, perhaps better than anyone, how Sharpay is when she has her heart set on something.

Sharpay Evans does not do rejection. The word "no", might as well not even exist in her vocabulary unless she's employing it to ward off the advances of the unworthy, or discarding an outfit suggestion.

Sharpay wanted that scholarship to Juilliard. Maybe even needed it, and the confidence boost that would come with it, more than she let on.

So, Peyton isn't surprised when he finds her standing ramrod straight before her dressing room mirror, trying her best to keep the moisture dampening her big brown eyes from spilling over and smudging her mascara.

He notices that Sharpay's neon pink star on the outside of the ladies' dressing room door, marking the space as Sharpay's long before one even walks inside to take in the distinctly pink and very, very Sharpay decor, has been switched off.

The sight leaves him with a hollow, uneasy feeling.

Reaching out, Peyton raps his knuckle softly against the open door. "Need some help packing this stuff up?"

Sharpay jumps almost imperceptibly. "Oh. Yeah," she answers flatly. There's a quiet sniffle accompanying her words that Peyton chooses to ignore for the sake of her dignity. She's exchanged her costume- a red East High graduation gown and cap customized with her signature etched out in pink rhinestones on the top- for a silky pink robe with a faux fur collar and sleeves. It makes her appear soft, vulnerable.

Peyton thinks that, maybe, if the other kids at East High got to see this side of Sharpay, she wouldn't have a reputation as the school's "Ice Queen".

He enters the room and begins helping her load the carry-on items, like cosmetic supplies, costumes, and posters of the shows she's starred in, over the years, into boxes. Taking the Spring Thing poster off the wall and rolling it up intensifies that hollow feeling until it begins to feel like there's a hole at Peyton's center. He can only imagine what Sharpay must be feeling, watching every trace of her fame and contributions to the drama department at East High being removed and stored away from the eyes of her adoring public.

"Admission into Juilliard isn't the only way to get a foot in the door in show business," he says, hoping as much to reassure her as to get a conversation going. Bottling up all negative emotions might be the Evans family's way of handling things, but Peyton knows this method has never worked with Sharpay. She needs to vent, to be loud and angry and completely unabashed about her feelings.

"Well…" Sharpay yanks a dress off of the costume rack and carelessly tosses it into a box. "Maybe, if that 'Rocket' kid hadn't showed up, reeking like a toxic spill, or Wonderboy hadn't dropped everything to bring back Miss Perfect-" She grits the words out through her teeth.

Peyton winces. He can't vouch for Jimmie Zara, that kid's always been kind of off, but he knows that, in all likelihood, and as much as it pains him, Troy wasn't even thinking about Sharpay when he went to the trouble of bringing Gabriella back to East High. Perhaps Troy thought he couldn't do the musical routines without Gabriella, or, maybe he thought everyone else at East High missed Gabriella as much as he did. He wouldn't be entirely inaccurate. Peyton did see his classmates moping about, their enthusiasm for the show completely shriveled up in the absence of, evidently, their preferred half of the school's It couple. Only Ryan, Kelsi, and Peyton, himself, expressed concern for how Troy was coping with his girlfriend's "unavailability".

Either way, Peyton knows that there was no ill will toward Sharpay, or desire to sabotage, on Troy's part. And he's certain that, one day, when all of this is behind them, Sharpay will see it, too.

"Sharpay," he starts. There's a desire to enter this topic on tip-toe, to creep about on eggshells to avoid further wounding Sharpay's pride. However… Peyton has seen Ryan approach reasoning with Sharpay in this manner, and it yields no results. This is a girl who has been coddled and spoiled her entire life. Hard truths, no matter how much she hates to hear them, have to penetrate the bubble she's insulated herself with, sometimes.

It's the only way she'll ever grow.

Peyton sucks in a breath to steel his nerves and presses on, gently. "In the eyes of the Juilliard scouts, you broke character, and then tried to fight another performer. From where they were sitting, that looked pretty bad."

"You know…" Sharpay pitches another costume into the box without any regard for the material it's made out of. "If you came here to cheer me up, you're really blowing it."

His heart gives a painful twist. The last thing Peyton wants is to make Sharpay feel even worse. "The point I'm trying to make is… " He turns away from the perfume bottle he was cautiously placing into the box, next to makeup supplies. "You're destined for fame, Sharpay," he promises, his voice full, certain, and unwavering, because he knows he's speaking the truth. "You are going to outshine every single star on Broadway. The world will love you. Everywhere you turn, fans will be screaming your name and falling over themselves to get your autograph and take pictures with you. Oprah will be blowing up your phone, non-stop." He can't quite gauge her reaction, but he can feel a shift in the air surrounding them. "This is just a detour on the road to your fame. But, even detours can meaningful. They can teach you something you might not have learned if you kept going in a straight line."

"Oh really?" She scoffs. She's always found his preachiness slightly more irritating than endearing, but Peyton can tell that she's still listening. She hasn't raised her walls, determined to keep him and his uncomfortable truths and nauseating moral profundities out.

"Yes. You tried to get that scholarship by being someone else-"

"Duh. That's what acting is, Peyton."

"- in the one and only show where you were supposed to be playing yourself."

Sharpay stills, her expression conflicted. "You know Kelsi writes her best songs for Troy and Gabriella," she says after a lengthy pause. Her eyes are trained on Peyton, boring right through his skin and muscle tissue, and pouring over the soul within.

Peyton doesn't back down. He can't. "People come to watch you perform for you, Sharpay."

"You have to say that," Sharpay murmurs, her eyes glinting with intense emotions that the rest of their classmates would label "dangerous".

All Peyton wants to do is wrap his arms around her small, slight body and hold her close; protect her, provide her with the guidance she so desperately needs. "You're not Gabriella, Sharpay…. and, I would never want you to be."

Fresh moisture shines on the surface of Sharpay's liquid brown eyes. When Peyton moves in, arms out to take her into an embrace, she doesn't pull back and distance herself from him. Erect a barrier to keep him out and their relationship stuck in an agonizing limbo between a friendship being pushed to its limits, and everything that it could be. His arms wind around her back, she pushes her face into his shoulder. Peyton can just make out a small noise escaping one of them, and it sounds content.

A feeling of gratitude floods Peyton, overwhelming him. His hand trembles as he strokes Sharpay's silky, vanilla-scented blonde hair. He's wanted this madly, desperately. "NYU would be thrilled to have you," he ventures. Tremors creep into his voice, but his resolve remains intact, as stalwart as ever.

"The whole of NYU, or just a giant with aspirations of being a director?" The teasing note in Sharpay's voice puts a smile on Peyton's face. The affection makes his heart beat faster.

"Okay. A giant with aspirations of being a director…" He moves back only enough to gaze into her eyes. "Who loves you truly, madly, deeply. And, has since the moment he first laid eyes on you."

There's no snark. No witty quip delivered in a voice dripping with snide sarcasm and a sense of superiority over lesser beings who succumb to sentiments so trivial and cliche as "love". Just a soft smile that illuminates the entirety of Sharpay's lovely face. Almost as if she's been waiting for this moment as much and as long as Peyton has.

Peyton leans in, the tip of his nose brushing hers- which is every bit as adorable as the nose she had when he first spotted her in media class- and presses his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. A kiss that he hopes will convey everything he's struggled to tell her and tried his hardest to show her. His devotion to her. His steadfast conviction in her, and everything he knows with all of his heart that she's capable of. The emotion that floods him, filling him from head to foot when he catches the all-too rare glimpse of a genuine smile on her face… Observes the moments of kindness that prove that she's anything but a cold-hearted "Ice Queen"…

He breaks off and looks into her eyes. They're still soft, and, as he watches, a glow steals into them, setting the liquid brown alight.

Sharpay breaks into a smile. "Took you long enough," she says, her voice brimming with affection. She reaches up, latches onto the front of Peyton's shirt, and pulls him into another kiss.

He beams into it, wrapping his arms around her lithe body. The daunting prospect of his future never frightened Peyton, but, knowing that he'll be progressing toward adulthood with Sharpay at his side has him feeling that he could conquer every potential roadblock that springs up in his… no, their path.

.

Sharpay catches Peyton gazing forlornly at Troy and Gabriella during the Evans's graduation party.

Peyton means to talk Troy out of following Gabriella to college. He knows they won't last, and can only see the negative repercussions such impulsiveness will have on his friend's life. But, he doesn't know if he can handle Troy's reaction to such a challenge. Unlike Sharpay, Troy doesn't get angry. He gets sad; the deep, all-encompassing sort of sadness that no amount of encouraging words can dissolve.

"Don't worry," Sharpay's voice suddenly declares. "Ryan's not going to let Wonderboy scamper off after Gabriella so easily."

"Huh?"

With a half-hearted roll of her eyes, Sharpay nods toward her brother, who has sidled up to Troy, mere moments after Gabriella abandoned the former athlete and left him looking dejected, and engaged him in conversation. Whatever Ryan is saying makes Troy laugh, and, when they catch each other's eyes, for just a moment, Peyton thinks he might see a hint of something… Something that definitely isn't even in the ballpark of platonic.

Somewhere between surprised at what he should have seen developing right before his eyes, all along, and astonished that Sharpay, of all people, picked up on it, Peyton turns back to the blonde girl. "Well. I knew you could be more perceptive than you let on."

Sharpay beams, smug. "I rarely disappoint."

Peyton wraps an arm around her backside. Her bare skin, exposed by the thin straps of her dress, is warm under the hot, New Mexican sun, and his heart soars when she leans into the embrace. Peyton can feel himself looking forward to a lifetime of this., and, when he sees Troy's hand entwined with Ryan's, he thinks that double-dates with Troy will suddenly be a lot easier to endure.