Sorry for taking so long for getting this out. What with a new job, school, tests, and whatnot, I didn't really have time to get this chapter out. I'll try to get the next chapter out faster, but I don't know when that is going to happen. Anyway, I don't think you want to hear excuses so on with the story...
Summary: Ryan, Sharpay, Chad, and Martha are all attending the University of New Mexico. Goes through all the trials and tribulations of being a college freshman. Eventual TroyxRyan. I really am not good at making summaries. Will probably be long story, so please don't complain about the story progressing slowly. It is meant to be long.
Disclaimer: Anything related to HSM or HSM 2 is not mine, but belongs to Disney. Plot and such is mine.
Chapter Two: Dinner and a Movie
Wait a minute, Troy is coming to Binghamton, and he is living in MY suite? I quickly sat down on my bed because I was on the verge of hyperventilating. You see, I kind of had a slight crush on Troy throughout all of high school. I mean, who can resist those blue eyes and his shaggy brown hair.
Damnit, there I go again. Maybe it was a little more than a "slight" crush. And here I thought college was going to be easier because I was away from him.
I began to wonder what room he is going to live in. I know he is not living with me because my roommate's name is Colin. He and I were in contact a couple of times over the summer. He seemed pretty nice, but I won't actually meet him until Sunday. His parents didn't want to drive him until then.
Anyway, back to the problem at hand. I don't know what I am going to do. I mean, seeing Troy at school and hanging out with him every now and then to play baseball with Chad was one thing, but actually LIVING with him?
Alright Ryan, just breathe. Everything will turn out alright. Besides, at least you know one of your suitemates right off the bat.
"Hey, Ryan, right?"
I looked up from my bed and saw Dan standing in my doorway.
"I was going to go and get something to eat from the dining hall. Do you want to come?"
Thinking that food might do me some good, I nodded, locked my computer, and grabbed my keys and ID card from my desk.
As I made my way to the doorway, I looked up at Dan's face. He was looking at me like I something strange on my face.
"What, is something on my face?"
"Oh, no. Is something wrong? You look a lot paler now than when I saw you earlier?"
"Oh, yeah, everything is alright."
"Okay then. If you say so. Let's go."
The walk to the closest dining hall was really short. We didn't talk once and it was very uncomfortable.
The dining hall was a nice building with two stories. The actual hall food was on the second floor, but there was a small café on the bottom floor that stayed open late at night.
Dan and I walked upstairs and we looked at the inside of the dining hall. I can only imagine what my face looked like: pure and utter disgust. I mean, what happened up here? Was this a decorating nightmare? The walls were a nice tan color, but it clashed horribly with the bright adobe red seats. The tables were the same color as the chairs and the carpet was the same color as the walls.
Trying to shake my head and forget about the color, I noticed Dan had already started walking to see what food there was.
The first thing I noticed was the salad bar in the middle of the room. I quickly walked over and grabbed a plate to get one. On one end of the room was the grill and the other end had pasta and pizza. In front of me was international cuisine and a station labeled entrées. At the entrée station, there was chicken kiev, couscous pilaf, Capri blend, grilled Italian sausage subs, and garlic fries.
With my love of french fries, I quickly walked to the line to grab some. After getting a substantial amount of fries on a plate, I turned around and crashed into another person.
"Damn, I am sorry," I said as I bent down to begin picking things up.
"No it's alright. It was my… Ryan?"
I looked up to see… "Troy?"
Why, oh why did I have to blush now of all times? I quickly ducked my head to further hide an embarrassment.
"Ryan, I am so sorry for bumping into you. I didn't even see you there. I was just getting a smoothie."
"It's okay Troy, it was an accident. It's not like I was paying attention to where I was going either."
"Well, let me make it up to you."
"What? Troy you don't need to make it up to me. It was an accident."
"I know it was, but I seriously would have thought you would be mad."
I finally looked up at Troy. He had a worried expression on his face. "Troy, I am not mad. It was an accident."
"So you're not mad that you have salad dressing all over your shirt?" he asked slowly.
I looked down to see a brown stain spreading on my blue shirt. Count to ten Ryan and breathe. One and breathe, two and breathe, three and breathe, four and breathe, and oh screw this… ten.
"Ryan, you got really quiet all of a sudden. Are you sure that you are okay?"
Breathe, breathe. Alright. I looked up and smiled. "Yeah, Troy. I am fine. I guess I will just smell like balsamic vinaigrette through dinner."
"Isn't that your favorite shirt though?"
How the hell did he know? "Yeah, but it will be okay. I think it will come out."
"I am so sorry. Here, let me make it up to you. I'll buy you dinner."
My stomach lurched. I sighed. If only it were under different circumstances. "Troy, seriously, it is okay. I am not mad."
"Well, I've made my decision and I am going to buy you dinner. That is the end of the story."
With that, he grabbed my tray and threw out the garbage that had been on the floor and made his way to the salad bar, leaving me behind. I quickly walked over to him.
"Troy, what are you doing?"
"Well, it didn't look like you were going to move anytime soon and I actually want to eat sometime today. So, I figured I would get your dinner for you."
"Troy, I am perfectly capable of getting my own dinner thank you very much. If you want to help that badly, why don't you go and get me a smoothie. Strawberry please."
He nodded and made his way over to the smoothie bar while I made my salad and replenished my supply of fries.
Thinking that I could get out of having him pay for me, I went to the cash register without him. As soon as I set my tray down, someone tapped my shoulder.
"And just what do you think you are doing mister?"
I sighed. "Saving a spot for you to pay for us?"
Troy's laugh made me shiver. "Good answer."
He paid for us and we walked to get our silverware.
"Where do you want to sit?"
I looked around the room to find Dan. I finally spotted him in the corner. "Over there, with my friend Dan."
We weaved our way through the tables and sat down with Dan.
"Where were you Ryan, you took forever? What happened to your shirt?"
"We just had a little accident," Troy said before I could answer. "I don't believe we have met. My name is Troy."
"I'm Dan."
Thinking quickly, I set my tray down across from Dan to see where Troy would sit, thinking that I would easily be able to sit next to him for dinner because he would rather sit next to someone that he knows. Yet, to my disbelief, he sat next to Dan and began talking to him about some random video game. I think they called it Half-Life, or something like that.
I slowly began to eat my fries and let my mind wander. They are acting like they have known each other since high school. Why can't he and I talk like that? I sighed. I wished it was that easy for me.
"Ryan?" Troy asked.
"Hmmm?"
"Umm, that is my leg your foot is rubbing."
I froze. My foot had wandered towards the middle of the table and I just started moving it up and down. I thought I was touching the leg of the table, not TROY'S leg.
"Ryan?"
I realized then that I hadn't moved my foot yet. "Sorry Troy. I was off in my own little world."
He smiled, making me shiver once again. "It's alright," he said as he turned back to continue his conversation.
I finished my fries and began to actually listen.
"Well, you should come over sometime and we'll network and play against each other," Dan said.
"That sounds like fun. So Ryan, are you going to try out for any drama productions this year?"
"I was thinking about it, yeah. How about you?"
"Naw, I think I am just going to stick with basketball. I want to get used to school first, ya know?"
"Yeah, well, with Sharpay here…"
"Who," Dan asked? "Did you say 'with Sharpie here'? Isn't that a type of marker?"
Troy and I looked at each other for a brief second before we both burst out laughing.
"What?"
"Don't let her hear you saying that," Troy said, his face still red from laughing.
"Who's she?"
Troy pointed with his head towards the door of the dining hall. "Her."
Sharpay was entering the dining hall with her usual grace and tact. I think she actually waited for someone to open the doors for her before she came in. From over here, I could hear her saying, "These colors have got to go."
Troy was muttering something to himself with a devilish grin on his face. As if coming to a decision about something, he quickly stood up and began waving his hands. "Sharpay, over here!"
I could only imagine what my face looked like: pure horror. Sure, I loved Sharpay, but I didn't want to completely embarrass myself on my very first day of college. Seriously, I have only been here for a few hours and I don't want to end it on a bad note.
"Ahhhhh! TROY! What are you doing here?" Sharpay squealed as she ran across the dining hall to where we were sitting.
She immediately threw her arms around Troy's shoulders and hugged him closely. She ran her fingers through his hair as she pulled away.
"So, come on, why aren't you in Albuquerque?"
"I decided to transfer here instead of staying in Albuquerque. It was kind of an easyl decision. The basketball scholarship kind of helpe…"
"Wait, you are playing basketball here? That means I can come to all your games and you can come to all of my productions. Wait, are you going to try out for any shows?"
"No Sharpay. You and Ryan will rule the stage once again."
"Watch it Bolton. I ruled the stage even when you did try out," I said.
"Yeah, backstage."
I heard someone over my shoulder clear their throat. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Daniel sitting there looking rather confused and slightly taken aback.
"Oh my god. I am so sorry Dan. I didn't mean to leave you out of the conversation like that. This is my sister…
"Twin sister Sharpay Evans," Sharpay finished for me holding her hand out for Dan.
He took her hand and gave her a quick shake causing a slight look of disgust and shock from Sharpay as well as laughter from Troy and myself.
"What? What did I do?"
"Sharpay is actually used to guys getting on one knee and kissing her hand. It's alright though dude, I did the same thing when I met her," Troy said.
"I'm not proposing to her, so why would I do that?"
"My thoughts exactly," Troy said crossing his arms across his chest.
"Though I am surprised I am actually claiming you, Ryan. What happened to you? Your shirt is totally gross!"
"Balsamic Vinegar accident," Troy said.
Sharpay left looking rather disgruntled muttering about having such a clumsy brother. In the meantime, the three of us began to eat in silence. An awkward silence. Luckily, Troy broke the silence before it became unbearable. Unfortunately, the conversation went in a direction that I didn't quite want it to go.
"So Dan, have you got a girlfriend?"
"Yeah actually I do. Her name is Katie and she lives across campus. How about you Troy?"
"I had a girlfriend, but we broke up a couple of weeks ago."
"What did you say?" I asked abruptly.
"Gabby and I broke up? Didn't you know?"
"Nobody told me that. What happened?"
"Wasn't working out. It was a mutual decision and we are still really good friends. I am glad it worked out the way it did in the end."
Inside, I was excited because even though Troy was as straight as could be, him breaking up with Gabby brought me hope. On the outside, I had to be a completely different person. Thank you drama!
"Oh Troy, I am so sorry," I said somberly. "At least it ended on a good note. That's how it happened with Kelsi and me. We just decided that things weren't working out and we decided that friends would be much better."
" Yeah, it's better this way. Thanks man. Anyway, on a lighter not, how long have you and Katie been going out, Dan?"
"Oh, we have been going out for a little over one year now. I am glad that we both decided to come to the same college. I don't think I could handle a long distance relationship."
We finished eating with some light conversation and then decided to head back to our rooms. I became really nervous as we began our walk back to the dorms. I hadn't actually told Troy that I was going to be living in the same suite and I didn't know how he was going to react.
Now that I think about it, the whole entire afternoon was kind of strange. Why were Troy and I acting like we have been friends forever? I am not Chad and I haven't been close friends with Troy. The only time we have actually hung out is when he worked at Lava Springs or when I played baseball with Chad. We never hung out after school, never talked outside of school. Hell, I don't think we even have each others phone numbers. So why is he acting so strange around me? Maybe he is excited to see a friend from high school at his college… naw. He had Gabby going to his other college in California and there are plenty of other friends of his that go to this college. So why me then?
"Ryan, what are you thinking about? You have been walking in silence since we left the dining hall. Dan left five minutes ago to meet with his girlfriend and see if she needs any help moving in and you didn't even say goodbye to him."
"Oh, um, I was just thinking about… whether… or not… I want to do… baseball this year or not!"
"Really? That would be cool. It would be just like old times."
"I know Troy. Just like senior year."
"Right, I forgot you were on the team."
"You came to most games and I was the starting center fielder."
"Yeah, I remember now. Well, I guess I am at my dorm building."
Just breathe Ryan. "So am I."
"Wait, you live in Smith too? What room?"
"Actually, I live in 312."
"We live in the same suite? That is awesome. Too bad we aren't roommates though. My roommate's name is Jason. I don't really like him so far, but we have only talked once when we were both moving in yesterday."
"At least you met your roommate. Mine hasn't moved in yet."
"Well I am sure you two will get along. And if not, maybe we can switch roommates and we can live together."
At this point, I kind of forgot what breathing was.
"Yeah…that would be cool."
"Well, instead of just standing in front of the hall, why don't we go upstairs and watch a movie or something."
"That sounds like a good idea," I said as we began walking up to our rooms. "What movies do you have?"
"I have a ton of movies. I'll let you look upstairs on my hard drive. You can pick then."
We got to the room a few seconds later and I went to my room to change out of my stained shirt. After that I went into Jason's and Troy's room. After a quick look on Jason's side, I realized how lucky I was NOT to be his roommate. He has only been here for one day and it was already a complete mess. At least Troy's side of the room was neat and well kept.
"So, what movie do you want to watch," Troy said from his computer chair.
I looked over his shoulder to his multitude of movies that he had on his external hard drive.
"Wow Troy, I didn't know you had so many movies. Where did you get them all from?"
"I downloaded them online and ripped them from my DVD's before coming to college."
"What do you need three hundred movies for?"
"Entertainment when I am bored… and to watch when I have friends over."
"Okay, understandable."
I had not idea what to pick. My first choice was going to be a horror movie for obvious implications. I quickly rethought my choice because I didn't want to scare him away.
"I don't know, what do you want to watch?"
"Well, do you have anything planned for later?"
"No. Sharpay is all set so I don't have to worry about going over to her place to help her set things up. I have things arranged in my room the way I want things so I think I am set. Why?"
"Well, if you aren't busy, why don't we just watch a couple of movies tonight. We can catch up since we haven't spoken since graduation and you spent the summer in New York with your sister."
"Sounds good to me. I'm not picking the first movie though."
"Fine, I'll pick the first one. Umm, what are you in the mood for? Horror, Sci-Fi, you name it, I got it."
"I told you that you have to pick the first movie Troy. I will pick the second.
"Alright alright. Fair enough. Umm, we will watch this movie then.
"What movie is it?"
"It's called the Descent. Ever heard of it?"
"No, but it sounds like a scary movie."
"It's not that bad, but yeah, it is a horror movie."
"Well then, I am going to apologize now for anything that I do that could potentially embarrass myself. I am not exactly the best person to watch movies with unless you like laughing at the person who jumps and grabs onto whatever is closest." I purposefully said that to warn him and provide an excuse for grabbing his arm in the middle of the movie.
"You're fine. There's no way that you could possibly be worse than Gabby. She jumped at the stupidest of things and constantly had to bury her face in my chest when anything remotely scary happened."
He put his laptop on a stand and put it in front of the bed. We sat next to each other and not five minutes into the movie, I jumped. I did not expect the husband and daughter to die like that.
Things were going well for a time after that. One thing for sure is that I am definitely never going to climb down into a cave EVER!
I held myself off from even touching Troy until they brought out the infrared camera and saw the weird, cannibalistic, white creature for the first time. I jumped and hooked my arm through his and held on for dear life while yelling, "What the HELL was that?" Needless to say, Troy just laughed.
One thing that I did forget to tell Troy is that I definitely do NOT like blood, so when the creatures took and started eating Holly, I hid my face behind Troy's shoulder.
Troy laughed again while I took the time to smell his cologne. He smelled really good. "Tell me when it is over."
"Will do."
From there until the end of the movie, I did pretty well. I grabbed his pillow about halfway through the movie instead of holding onto his arm. I figured that it would probably be less awkward for him that way.
The movie lasted far too long for me, especially since I took the pillow instead of Troy's arm.
"So, what did you think?"
"It wasn't too bad, but I don't think I could stand another horror movie tonight."
"That's fine with me considering that it is your turn to pick. While you are picking, I am going to go and make some popcorn. Do you want some too?"
"If you don't mind, that would be great."
"Alright, I'll be right back."
I quickly looked through his movies and decided to watch Grease because I was in the mood for something fun to get my mind off of the last movie.
Troy came back with the popcorn and jumped into the bed, spilling it all over his sheets.
"Hah! Now you have to wash your sheets after one day at college. Shame on you Troy Bolton."
"Okaaay Mom."
We started the movie and I began humming along with the songs as the movie went on. I restrained myself from getting up and singing along to Greased Lightning, which I am glad that I did because it was rather late and I didn't want to disturb anyone.
I looked at the clock halfway through the movie and it was 1:00am. As soon as I saw this, my eyes began to droop and I slowly fell asleep…
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