Chapter One: Absolutely Fabulous

Hundreds upon hundreds of people of all ages, of all backgrounds, of all shapes and sizes stand packed in the stands, behind the barriers constructed to keep them away from the red carpet. On the sidelines, the privileged reporters and camera crew-men are in frantic frenzy as they rush around arranging their equipment onto the sleek, blood-red carpet that holds the buzzing, cheering crowds attention.

"Evan's is arriving! Evans!" A voice shrieks in excited exclamation.

"Oh, shit! Get Hal out of the toilets, tell him to get the camera rolling – I'll be damned if I'm the one to lose this exclusive for Entertainment Tonight!" A frustrated female reporter in a glitzy blue dress retorts as she desperately straightens her hair and tries to adjust her crumpled looking appearance.

The crowds of fans are also starting to become rowdy as the excitement grows – word is spreading. The moment they have all been waiting for is about to arrive. A teenage girl with frizzy blonde hair and big, watery blue eyes near the front of the stands screams in excitement and then topples back into her crowd of friends – out cold. A man in his mid-thirties brandishes a 'SHARPAY, PLEASE MARRY ME!' banner and jumps up and down, holding it high over his head.

"Ladies and gentleman, I do believe we are going to witness the Sharpay Evans arrive at her luxury LA mansion in the next ten to fifteen seconds." A man in a black suit stands before a camera-man, he speaks confidently into the camera; holding a microphone in his hand. "I got to say, you have to actually be here to feel the tension, the excitement – I've never felt so much anticipation in my entire journalistic career!"

The female reporter in the fancy blue dress glares at the male reporter, competition written across her face. She waltzes up besides him and wields her microphone like a weapon. Hal, a hurried looking man in his early twenties, begins to operate the camera. The woman smiles a big, red fake smile directly into the camera.

"Over four hours of waiting and finally, after an 8-month-long mysterious disappearance, the world-renowned 3 time Oscar winner Sharpay Evans will finally be returning to her extravagant home." Celia smiles widely. "What were Sharpay Evans' reasons for disappearing? Where did she go? And most importantly for Troypay fans; where does this leave her infamous relationship with basketball champion hot-shot Troy Bolton? I'm Celia Hughes, live in LA for Entertainment Tonight and tonight, I hope to bring you some answers."

Hal cuts the camera and then signals to Celia to let her know she is off air. She sighs and then rolls her eyes at Hal.

"Damn these shoes. They're digging into me like hell."

The crowds of people are becoming almost impatient with waiting. The reporters look on anxiously down the long red-carpet which stretches out from the metallic gates shielding Sharpay Evans' home down to the end of the road, where her stretch limo is expected to pull up at any moment.

Above the sounds of people talking, laughing, shouting, screaming… came another sound. The distant noise of a heavy engine hurtling down the street. A few observant people in the crowds begin to hear it. Celia Hughes raises an impatient hand at a moaning Hal as she turns her head and focuses her attention on the noise. Slowly and steadily, news spreads among everyone that is congregated there and people quieten down.

The girl who had passed out is now being desperately shaken by her group of friends as they try to coax her awake. She may be missing the biggest celebrity moment of the year – if not decade!

As eagerly expected, a slender pink stretch limousine pulls into view. People gasp, others 'hush!' and 'shh!' others. The limousine parks so that its passenger door is directly in front of the red carpet. The engine dies down to a halt. The tension is thick, the atmosphere is full of expectation. For a moment, people hold their breaths. The male reporter licks his hand and slicks his dark hair down – a nervous gesture. Nothing seems to be happening.

"Where is she…?" A voice whispers.

"Maybe it's a hoax…!"

"I'll kick Jeff's ass of Gabriella Montez steps out of that car instead-"

"Shh!"

The driver of the limousine steps out, he is dressed formally in a sharp, pink suit. Yes, pink. His shoes are made of sparkly diamond-like rhinestones. People stare at him, agog. One thing is for certain; he is definitely Sharpay Evan's driver.

He is conscious of the thousands of eyes upon him, Hal is filming him and the paparazzi are taking wildly taking pictures. A few people in the crowd start to call out and shout.

"WHERE'S SHARPAY?!"

"Hey, buddy – nice suit!"

The driver pretends he doesn't know how closely he's being watched, instead, he walks purposefully around the limo to the passenger doorway and then pulls it open. A small, white fluffy ball of fluff is extended through the door. A few people cheer.

"OMG! It's her dog!"

"It's her!!!"

"This is the happiest day of my life!"

The perfectly manicured hands which are holding up the dog give way to slender, bare arms which show off a perfect, bronze tan. Blindingly platinum blonde hair and the signature big sunglasses shape the face of Sharpay Evans as she daintily steps out on pink stilettos. She wears a pink mini-dress and her hair is long, hanging down over her bare shoulders. A mature, confident look radiates from her. She is older, more beautiful and definitely successful. She surveys the crowd and a small, coy – almost modest – smile plays across her lips. She bows her head and proceeds forward across the red carpet. The driver scurries behind her, two big bouncer-like security guards step out from the iron gates which shield her house and proceed towards her to escort her to her home.

As the crowd watches her walk across to her home, the extravagant – often eccentric Sharpay Evans that they all knew, loved and remembered, they begin to cheer and whoop. She is being frantically photographed and reporters rush along the red-carpet behind her holding up their microphones and shooting questions at her.

"Sharpay – Sharpay, where have you been?"

"Is it true you were in imprisoned in Iraq as a prisoner of war? Did Al-Qaeeda use torture racks on you?"

"Was it Troy Bolton's non-stop drinking and excessive womanising which finally drove you away?"

"Have you spent the last few months at an abortion clinic?"

Sharpay pays no attention to the reporters, she holds her dog possessively to her chest and lets her security men deal with warding them off. From behind the gates appears a thin woman in a black suit with cropped, black hair. She escorts Sharpay by the arm over to a crowd of paparazzi.

"Here, take a few pictures and then we'll get you inside."

Sharpay doesn't smile or speak, she stands there resignedly and looks directly into the cameras. Her publicist moves away and starts conferring with the paparazzi.

"Guys, hurry it up, only a couple more shots now, OK?" Her publicist turns around, surveying the madness that surrounds her, and then sees a muscular young man with dirty blonde hair step out of the home and approach the iron gates – as the crowds spot him, they go berserk.

Troy Bolton, now aged 27 years old, laughs and smiles at the screeching crowd of fans as he steps casually into the spotlight. A dozen flash-bulbs go off as the paparazzi ruthlessly snap away and reporters practically clamber over themselves to get closer the sealed gate to get Troy's attention.

Troy's eyes travel to the red carpet and his eyes settle on only one person; Sharpay. Of all the glamorous and sparkly surroundings about her- she still looked the most fabulous. He just stood there among the media circus with her standing opposite him, looking as gorgeous as he remembered, and stared. Amidst all the insanity, Sharpay's eyelashes flutter in his direction as she turns her gaze to him; lights flashing in her face from the cameras – but she barely notices them. The two exchange looks of deep passion, of longing, of wanting… and of regret.

From behind Troy appears a shorter, thinner, dark-haired woman with big, tantalising brown eyes. She entwines her arms in Troy's, snapping him out of his dream-like state. His gaze shifts down to her and he gives her a small smile, she beams up at him.

"I can't believe she's back!" She smiles a genuine smile as she whispers to Troy.

He gives her a light-hearted smile back and then looks through the iron gates at Sharpay. The expression on her face makes his heart sink.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: READ AND REVIEW!!!!!! I WON'T UPDATE UNLESS YOU GUYS REVIEW!!! I MEAN IT!!! LOL. No, seriously, I need some feedback because I really don't think people are going to enjoy this story, it's so different from anything I've ever attempted before. So WHAT DO YOU THINK? Is it worth a chapter 2 or should I give up? PLEASE REVIEW EVEN IF IT'S JUST TO LET ME KNOW YOU READ IT!!

THANKS!!