Under One roof

Chapter one

Rivals for Life

It was dawn and a bit of mist was still hanging around Venice Beach. The sun wasn't up yet and everything was still quiet – everyone trying to grasp what was left of their sleep before coming to life and filling the streets creating the hustle and bustle that will last all throughout the day.

At exactly 0530 the deejay started blabbing and the figure covered by purple sheets of her canopy bed started to move. A fluff of gold hair suddenly emerged from the top of the covers immediately followed by a goddess-like face whose sleepy expression never took away her ethereal beauty. She snapped open her crystal blue eyes, scrunching her eyebrows and pouted a bit before reaching out a perfectly manicured hand towards her alarm and shutting it off.

She stood up and walked towards the bay windows admiring the orange and violet hues starting off in the horizon while she did a little warm-up stretching before going back to her bed and fixing it up after which she dressed herself up for a morning jog. Putting on her Nike running shoes, Ashley Mikaela Evans-Adams crept downstairs, unlocked the backdoor of the beach house and started running along the coast just as the sun started to rise.

An hour later, she returned and stepped inside her home and inhaled the intoxicating aroma of dark chocolate being melted and mixed with the pancake batter now being poured into the pan and cooked to perfection by her mother.

She made a beeline into the kitchen to grab a plate and a stack of pancakes but before she could get away with it, her mother raised an eyebrow at her obviously disapproving of the way she showed up for breakfast: sweaty and with sand covered shoes.

Ashley, hungry as a lion but knowing that she won't get to eat if she gripes, did a little pout and made her eyes as puppy-like as possible. Her mother shook her head.

"I told you Ash; take a shower before you come down here. Now, up!" Sharpay scolded her daughter and listened to her groan and stomp her way into her room. She rolled her eyes and continued preparing breakfast. She knew that her daughter was hungry but rules were rules. The only time Ashley was able to get away with eating before a shower was when her husband was alive.

Roger Adams spoiled his daughter silly and smothered her with so much love – her and her mother both. Sharpay missed her husband who passed away two years ago in a tragic car accident.

"Mom I am so famished! Why can't I eat first before I shower?" Ashley grumbled reentering the kitchen wearing a cute pink top with a black leather skirt and Ugg boots. She had her hair in a side ponytail and was waving around her new Chanel sunglasses.

"Because it helps you in discipline and it lessens the sand Mrs. Jones vacuums when she comes here." Sharpay explained exasperatedly turning off the stove and getting her own stack of pancakes along with a mug of coffee and sitting in front of her daughter.

"Mom, how disciplined can I get? I'm the drama club president and as a stage actress, I must have one hundred percent grip on myself before becoming loose onstage. I mean must I really starve to death right before I get to eat?" Ashley said in between her chewing.

"Did you starve to death?" her mother asked giving her daughter a wry look.

"Uhm… I'm dying?" Ashley tried making her mother roll her eyes again.

"Yes, yes you are." Sharpay said sarcastically smirking at her daughter's playful glare.

"Whatever," she said before drinking her milk, "So Mom – I am done and I'll be putting my plate on the sink. See you at dinner – please tell Johnny Depp I said hi!" Ashley called out while doing what she said she'd be doing.

"What!? I'll tell Johnny Depp you said he's hot?!" Sharpay called out making her daughter rush back to the kitchen her face flaming red.

"Mother I just opened the door – please don't announce it to the world – and… it was 'hi'," hissed her mortified daughter before creeping to the front door and looking left and right making sure that her secret was still safe and that her neighbors heard not a word.

Sharpay snorted and cleared her own plate and went to her room to prepare for work. She had a shooting on set today – with Johnny Depp – and she didn't want to be late.

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In another home, a family of three were still sleeping soundly until the youngest – namely Matthew David Bolton, aged 12, got up and looked at the time. It was 7 in the morning. The boy's eyes got wide before he rushed off to the master's bedroom in order to awaken his slumbering father.

Matthew entered the huge room and went straight to the bed where the sheets were carelessly thrown aside and a man clad in only his boxers was hugging a pillow very tightly to his chest. The boy rolled his eyes and poked the used-to-be chiseled torso of the man who calls himself their father.

"Dad its seven." Matthew said poking his father. The man just grumbled incoherently before turning.

"This is stupid." Matthew muttered before going into the en-suite bathroom and filling a glass with water. He crept back into the room and went straight to his father's bed before rolling his eyes and upturned the glass and dousing his father's face.

"Oh man! Water in my nose!" Troy yelled sitting up. He looked at his son's retreating back and then at the clock that said 7:10, "Damn…" he muttered before getting up and rushing to the bathroom. Ten minutes later he was in the kitchen making bacon and eggs for his son. Matthew glanced at the wall clock and noted that it was nearly 7:30.

"Dad, Val's not up yet." Matthew said while chewing his breakfast and Troy glanced at the clock.

"Why didn't you wake her?" Troy said before turning off the stove and heading to the staircase.

"She threatened to throw me out the window when I tried." Matthew called after him.

Troy entered his daughter's room and approached her bed. Valerie Anne Bolton was on her stomach snoring her nose off. Troy rolled his eyes and bodily picked up his sleeping daughter and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her, still snoring, all the way to her en-suite bathroom and placed her gently into the tub before setting the shower to cold and opening it to full blast.

He was just closing the shower curtains when his daughter's bloodcurdling scream as she thrashed around wildly trying to reset the knobs of her shower into a more suitable temperature.

"A thank you would be nice." Troy said and heard his daughter huff from within the tub.

"You're welcome…" he said before heading out and closing the door behind him.

Valerie entered the kitchen, her dark brown hair still wet, and started on her breakfast but not before kissing her father's cheek and ruffling her younger brother's hair. Troy glanced at her before going to back to his morning paper and drinking his coffee.

"Yes, no, no, yes, no and no," he said still engrossed at his paper. Valerie was frozen in her chair, her mouth opened as if she was to speak.

"But Daddy…" she whined after the initial shock had settled but it felt like speaking to nothing.

"Ugh fine! C'mon booger-face, let's go get you to school!" Valerie said in a sing-song voice making her brother scowl at her.

"Shut up Val." Matthew muttered before grabbing his backpack and heading out the front door. Valerie kissed her father's cheek before grabbing her keys and following her brother out of the house. The Bolton siblings entered the lightning silver Porsche that was Valerie's birthday gift from her father.

"What did Daddy tell you?" Val asked her brother starting up the car.

"Uhm: no, yes, no, no and no…" he answered looking crestfallen.

"Sad," she muttered before pulling away both sibling unaware that their father was watching them from the window. Troy chuckled and went back to his paper. He had a few hours to kill before meeting the Lakers and giving them a workout of a lifetime.

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Marlborough School is a private school for girls. It is the home of the purple and white and the Mustang mascot. It is also the home of one of the biggest rivalries the school has ever seen.

On the athletics corner, Valerie Bolton, the most popular girl jockey of the school and on the arts corner, Ashley Adams, Marlborough's resident drama queen. Both known for being ferociously good on their chosen "fields," they had started a rivalry during their freshman year. It was rumored that both girls were crushing on Viktor Thorn, the Alpha Male of Harvard-Westlake School.

The guy then subsequently played both hearts and ended up being both their ex-boyfriends. From then on, the two girls harbored a deep-seated loathing on him and upon each other since he was dating them both at the same time.

It was the end of the day and the other students at Marlborough were wondering if some kind of miracle happened. For the whole day, Valerie Bolton and Ashley Evans did not raise their voices a notch. The two would usually spark a verbal sparring whenever they met in the hallways but so far, none had occurred.

Valerie walked along the hall twirling a basketball on her finger and joking with her friends. She hardly noticed the other girl heading in her direction. Ashley was reading a script given earlier that day. She was lead, as usual, and was very excited to know the flow of the story. Since the two were busy doing other things, they hardly noticed one of their classmates who stood between their closing distances.

Shelby was going to her locker when she dropped her bag so she bent down to pick it up. Unfortunately, Valerie and Ashley both looked up too late and Shelby was able to avoid them thus making them bump into each other. The whole hall became silent as a basketball bounced in one direction and a script fell on the floor.

"Watch where you're going Bolton – poor Shelby did the basketball hit you?" Ashley asked her classmate who shook her head and thanked her by flashing a brief smile before scurrying away.

"The question is, Adams, did your heavy book fall on her foot?" Valerie said calmly but glaring at her rival, her high cheeks angled in such a way that she looked really smug towering over the petite blond in front of her. Ashley cursed herself for not wearing heels today since her rival was taller than her by a good 4 inches.

"My 'heavy book' is called a script," she snapped bending down and picking it up holding it close to her chest, "But of course, you of all people should know that. But wait! I forgot you're a jock in female form. I'm sorry." Ashley said with a little pout.

"Just because I can play doesn't mean I have no brains." Valerie snapped feeling more insulted by the minute. She stood taller and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Is that so? Well, what do you know?" Ashley rolled her eyes and pushed her way past Valerie.

"None of your business Evans, I keep my business to myself!" her rival called out after her, "Especially when it involves fluff of other people," she muttered under her breath but she was heard Ashley went back.

"You hardly knew anything!" she hissed and Valerie snorted.

"What're you gonna do about it?" she teased and Ashley just scoffed.

"Nothing, I don't sink to such negative levels," she huffed when she heard a loud guffaw behind her. She spun dramatically and was about to speak when her script fell due to the external force of her spin and hit Valerie's foot. Valerie jumped yelped in pain and accidentally shoved Ashley who in turn thought that it was going to be more than shoving and raised her fist.

"Don't you ever shove me you bitch!" she yelled and punched Valerie square in the face. Valerie winced in pain but it was enough to anger her and she punched back. Ashley doubled over clutching her stomach but not before sending an uppercut which Valerie managed to avoid.

After rubbing their sore spots, the two glared at each other, teeth bared, fists raised…

World War III had begun.

Everyone was surprised at the fistfight which transgressed right after their argument. Before anyone could blink twice, Valerie and Ashley were rolling all over the floor punching and kicking each other.

"STOP!"

The sound of the principal's voice reverberated throughout the hall and Valerie and Ashley looked up to see Gary Mason's face looking down on both of them.

"Hi Sir…" Valerie said immediately standing up from Ashley wiping away the blood from her nose while her other hand was fumbling for the pocket in her jeans that held her handkerchief.

"What brings you here?" Ashley asked politely straightening herself up. She was sporting a bruise on her arms since all her efforts were spent trying to keep Valerie from hitting her gorgeous face.

"You both – to my office; pronto!" their principal yelled.

The crowd parted and watched as two of the most popular girls in the school were led away.


Author's Note:

I've started a new story, yey me! lol Please tell me if you like it or not.