DISCLAIMER: I only own "Lauren." None of the other characters belong to me.

The doorbell rang and Lauren quickly checked herself in the mirror before opening the door to see Ryan's beautiful and beaming smile. Her shoulder length curls were held back in a pin as she and Ryan walked to the car, chatting quietly. Ryan held the door open like a perfect gentleman and the two of them drove to the movies to meet up with Troy, who stood waiting for them at the entrance of the theatre. He embraced Lauren in a friendly hug when she walked towards him and offered her the ticket he had already bought her. Troy and Lauren waited while Ryan bought his ticket, then the three of them walked together into the theatre. They took three seats in the middle and Lauren sat contently between the two guys, Ryan on her left, Troy on her right.

Halfway through the movie, Ryan got up to go get a popcorn refill, leaving Troy and Lauren alone. Troy leaned towards her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Lauren smiled and bit her lip, ecstatic that Troy Bolton had his arm around her!

Ryan came back to see Lauren and Troy cuddling gently in the theatre and slowly sat down next to Lauren, slightly upset. The three of them finished the movie, Troy's arm never moving from it's place around Lauren's shoulders, even as they walked out of the theatre.

As Lauren and Ryan headed toward's Ryan's car, Troy took hold on Lauren's arm, "Hey…let me take you home. Ryan can go home and do his work. It's really not a problem."

"Um…would you mind, Ryan?"

Ryan shrugged, "No…I'll see you guys tomorrow."

With that, he quickly left them standing there and Troy took Lauren's hand in his and they walked towards his car. On the way home, Troy held her hand and the two of them talked about her life in California before her sudden transfer to New Mexico. When they pulled up to her house, Troy got out and walked her to her front door.

"Tonight was fun," he said.

"Yeah, thanks for inviting me," replied Lauren.

The stood staring at each other until Troy leaned in towards her slowly. Catching his drift, Lauren leaned forward as well until their lips met. Troy moved his hands up and cupped her face gently as Lauren caressed his arms, kissing each other sweetly. They broke apart and smiled before Troy said bye and left.

The next morning as Lauren was getting her books from her locker, she was a little disappointed to see that Ryan was not there with his usual morning greeting. After the bell rang and with no sign of Ryan, Lauren went to homeroom, eager to see both him and Troy.

When she walked into homeroom, Troy greeted her with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek. Ryan was no where to be found. Lauren spotted Sharpay and Zeke talking to Gabriella and her mystery boy, while Tayor, Chad, Jason, and Kelsi were all engaged in a deep conversation about the chemistry homework.

When Ms. Darbus started speaking, all other chatter in the room ceased and the students took their seats. Lauren looked around and saw Ryan sitting in the back seat, listening intently to Ms. Darbus and avoiding Lauren. When it was time to go to Algebra 2, Ryan dashed out the door and Lauren rushed to catch up with him.

"Ryan!" she said, pulling on the back of his sweater.

"Oh, Lauren, hi." He turned around and walked towards the class.

Lauren walked quickly to keep his pace, but was always a few steps behind him, "I missed you this morning."

"Oh, well I figured Troy would be there."

A confused look spread over Lauren's face, "What are you talking about?"

Ryan sighed, "Nothing. Let's just get to class."

During lunch, Ryan sat at the opposite end of the table from Lauren, who was pulled onto Troy's lap, but sat there contently, forgetting about what had happened with Ryan earlier that day. The group sat together and discussed auditions next week, each stating what song they were going to audition with. When lunch ended, Troy planted a kiss on Lauren's lips before he ran off for basketball, while Lauren walked by herself to her next class.

Life was different without Ryan. She was lonely, but she was also happy that she was with Troy. Why couldn't she have both?

Once she got home she checked her cell phone for the usual afternoon text from Ryan and found herself practically in tears when it didn't show up, but found herself smiling when she got a text from Troy.

How could she be so happy to be with Troy but so upset not to have Ryan?