Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical nor any of the characters (with the exception of Stacy Evans. She's mine). I only take credit for the plot of this fanfiction.

Previous Chapter Recap

Stacy wasn't really listening. She wanted to get straight to the point. "Well, Troy, I was wondering, since I'm in town for two weeks and I'm a bit of a - how shall I put this? - theatre expert back home, would you like me to help you out? You must have a lot on your plate with the show going up so soon!"Again with the hair-twirling.

Troy shrugged. "Sure," he said, "I wouldn't mind an extra hand. As long as it's cool with Darbus, it's cool with me."

Stacy squealed. "Fabulous!" she cried, clapping her hands and doing a kind of mini-jump. "I can't wait to work with you."

—

Chapter 3 - Flubbed Lines and Rejection

"All right, Stacy, come on in and I'll teach you the ropes." Troy said to Stacy the next afternoon. They had agreed to meet up at the lighting and sound booth in the auditorium a few minutes before the "Always and Forever" rehearsal began, so he could teach her some of what he knew before the dress rehearsal the next day. Stacy positively skipped into the booth with Troy and closed the door behind her as she entered. "Okay," Troy began, "so the first thing I should probably show you..."

But Stacy wasn't listening to him at all. She stared at him as he talked, watching him point out the different switches and other controls on the lighting board, but she wasn't paying attention to a single word he said. After all, she really didn't care about lights. Besides, she'd been involved with her own school's drama club long enough now that surely she knew a thing or two about stage lighting if the worst came to the worst.

"Troy," Stacy interrupted, "I was wondering, do you have a girlfriend?" She already knew the answer to this, because according to Ryan and Sharpay he was already taken, but she felt it best to pretend she didn't know anything. Troy looked semi-confused. What kind of a question was that for Stacy to be asking? Why would she possibly care about his love life? He went back to explaining different types of lighting washes but Stacy merely crossed her arms and kept looking at him in a strange way. "Well?" Stacy spoke again, "Do you?" Now Troy was getting a little bit freaked out. What's with this girl? he wondered. She's not listening to a word I'm saying! He turned to look at Stacy and sighed, realizing that if he didn't answer her question she'd never shut up about it.

"For your information, yeah, I do have a girlfriend. Her name is Gabriella. We were the lead characters in the winter musical this year." Troy said. Stacy pretended to look crestfallen. She was, after all, a good actor. She didn't care whether or not Troy had a girlfriend; all she cared about was breaking them up.

—

Two hours later, rehearsal had ended, not that Stacy had watched any of it or paid attention to anything Troy had told her. She'd been too busy flirting shamelessly and asking endless questions about Gabriella. Now, as the actors left the stage and Troy dimmed the lights, Stacy planned to make her move.

"Troy?" Stacy asked innocently, folding her hands together behind her back and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet like a little girl.

"What, Stacy?" Troy asked, exasperated. She hadn't paid any attention to him during the rehearsal and he was getting really annoyed with her. Stacy smiled up at him and leaned toward him slowly...slowly...slowly..."Gabriella!" Troy exclaimed, pushing Stacy away from him and dashing out of the booth. Stacy stumbled but caught herself before she fell down. She looked out through the clear glass window to see a pretty girl with long dark hair, olive skin and dark eyes walking up the aisle in Troy's direction. Troy ran quickly, meeting her half-way, and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Stacy saw red. This must be the famous Gabriella Montez, she thought to herself, hating Gabriella with every fibre of her being. She was dressed well, but not too spectacularly, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of her neck and she was carrying an armload of books. Yes, books. Stacy rolled her eyes. What does she have that I don't? she thought vindictively, opening the door to the sound booth and stepping out. Troy and Gabriella were talking animatedly a few feet away, and hadn't noticed that Stacy was standing behind them. She coughed ever so slightly and Troy turned around.

"Gabriella, this is Stacy Evans," Troy said, beckoning Stacy to come and join them, although not without a look of utter annoyance on his face, "the girl who's helping me with the lights in the show. Or supposed to be, anyway."

Stacy missed the sarcasm and spoke directly to Gabriella, putting on her most fake voice, complete with even more over-exaggerated syllables than usual. "Oh, Gabriella! It's so nice to meet you! Troy's told me so much about you." Gabriella smiled and stuck out her hand, which, to no surprise of Troy's, Stacy did not shake.

"It's nice to meet you too, Stacy," Gabriella said, "It's great that you're giving Troy an extra hand with the show. I can't wait to see it. You're Ryan and Sharpay's cousin, right?" Stacy nodded and kept on smiling. "Yeah, they told me you were here. I was watching the show from backstage."

"So Gabriella, you ready to go? I can walk you home if you want." Troy said, slipping his arm through Gabriella's and smiling at her. Stacy thought she was going to be sick. Oh, please! she thought bitterly to herself as Troy and Gabriella walked past her out of the auditorium with a quick "See ya tomorrow, Stacy!" from Troy.

Stacy couldn't believe it. This was the first time in her life that any guy she'd flirted with hadn't been turned on by her charm. Or her blonde hair. Or the fact that she was an amazingly gifted actress - at least in her opinion. Completely angry, she turned on her five-inch platform heels and pushed the main doors of the auditorium open with such force that it swung open and hit the outside wall with an almighty bang. Without even bothering to wait for Ryan and Sharpay to come out of the dressing rooms, Stacy stomped out of the main doors of East High and whipped her cell phone out of her purse to call her father to come and pick her up.

Nobody turns me down, Stacy declared internally, especially not the likes of you, Troy Bolton. I'll break you and Gabriella up, just wait and see.

—

Chapter three, ladies and gents! Hope you liked!

And again, all the cookies go to Tortall Tribe Freak for the lovely reviewing. Thanks muchly for reading! I brought Gabriella in, just like I promised; hope it was enough for you! There's more wonderful Gabi-ness to come, though, so don't fret. ;)

Now I'm going to get down on my knees and beg for some review love (or hate) from any of the rest of you guys. Do you love this fic? Do you hate it? Should I break my pen, crawl under the covers of my bed and never show myself in public again? Let me know!!