Chapter III

It was well past midnight and Chad Danforth still was not ready for sleep.

After the grueling day he'd just had being carted all over Chicago by the DeLeon clan, spending non-stop hours on shopping and tuxedo fittings, ending with a lavish dinner at a 5-star restaurant, he knew he should be knocking back zzzs's big time right now. And yet, for the last couple of hours all he could do was think about Taylor and the guilt he felt at how things had been left between them.

Chad knew he'd hurt her by seeming indifferent to her concerns about Marissa and for that he was truly sorry. Calling her jealous, untrusting, and insecure was definitely crossing the line and he worried that she would never forgive him or allow him the chance to make things up to her. He'd been calling Taylor's cell phone half the night since returning to his room at the hotel but she hadn't answered. She probably had it off while hanging out with Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay and Zeke just like they'd been doing practically every Saturday night since the start of the new school year. Just thinking about all of them having fun without him left Chad feeling disappointed and a little envious. He reached for his cell, considering whether or not to try reaching Taylor again, but opted for an alternative. He punched in a number and waited.

"Hello?" came a groggy voice over the line.

"Troy? Chad."

"Hey man, what's up?" Troy yawned, slowly rising up in bed at the sound of his best friend's voice.

"Not much," Chad confessed. "Just doing the checking in thing since I couldn't catch up with you earlier."

"Oh yeah…sorry about that. I must have turned my phone off by accident instead of just muting the ringer," Troy admitted rubbing sleep from his eyes. "After a few hours of Sharpay yakking at us about her "vision" for Senior Weekend I think I just went brain dead and forget about everything else, including checking on my phone even for messages."

"It's cool. No problem," Chad reassured. "So I guess you guys had a pretty good time tonight huh? Sharpay and all?"

"It was okay. Would have been a whole lot more fun though if you and Taylor had been around too," Troy admitted truthfully.

"What do you mean? Taylor didn't hang out with you guys tonight?" Chad asked trying to sound causal but coming across concerned. "How come?"

"Don't know really. Gabriella gave some excuse about homework which

Sharpay proceeded to shoot down. Zeke and I didn't buy it either. Too lame really, even if Taylor is a braniac. I figured she probably didn't want to seem like a 5th wheel since you were out of town so she either was at home or found something else to do," Troy explained.

For some reason the part about "something else to do" got to Chad but he didn't want to let on to his friend so he changed the subject slightly.

"I guess Gabriella told you about the fight we had. Taylor and I?"

"Yeah. She told me. Said Taylor was a mess after you left. Didn't get a grip until they were able to talk Friday morning after you had gone," Troy confessed. "Man Chad, you must have been pretty brutal to make a tough cookie like Taylor crumble."

Chad sighed. "I was a complete jerk Troy. I can't even defend my behavior toward Taylor it was just that bad. All she wanted was to talk about this Marissa thing and I practically bit her head off."

"Sounds like someone's got a guilty conscience," Troy stated, already knowing the answer.

"The guiltiest. All I know is that I'd be lost without Taylor not just as my girlfriend but as my friend. She's special to me just like Brie is to you," Chad admitted making no attempts to hide his real feelings behind a "guy" persona.

"I hear you," Troy replied. "When I thought I'd lost Gabriella this past summer getting caught up in Sharpay's games, I really didn't know what I would have done if she hadn't forgiven me and we had gotten back together."

"Exactly. That's why when I get back tomorrow I have to make things right between me and Tay."

"You will. Just believe that she loves you as much as you love her."

"I do," Chad said without hesitation. "It's just this thing with Marissa…it's got us all screwed up. More than anything I wish I didn't have to be her escort to this stupid debutante affair. I should have told my mom no right from the start when she asked me a month ago."

"Well it's kind of hard to say no to your mom," Troy advised. "You were only trying to make her happy and help her keep a promise to a friend."

"Yeah but in the process I've hurt the only girl I've ever been in love with so I can spend time with one I cut loose almost two years ago."

"No worries. Tomorrow you'll be back and you and Taylor can spend some quality time working things out," Troy promised hopefully.

"That's my intention. Thanks Troy for talking things out with me."

"What are friends for? Now get some sleep so you can handle your business mañana," Troy laughed. "Later."

"Later," Chad said, laughing too. Nobody was a better friend than Troy Bolton.

A half an hour later Chad was in bed and feeling good about his return home the next day. All he needed was some time with Taylor to really talk things out and give her the best apology ever and they'd be fine. Positive that all would be right again Chad rolled over and closed his eyes.

It was at that precise moment a soft a knock came to his door followed by the sound of Marissa's voice faintly calling his name from the other side. "Chad it's me Marissa. I need to talk with you. Please let me in…"