Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or its characters


The Door

One Week Later...

Sharpay wearily opened her eyes at the sound of her phone alarm repugnantly buzzing. She was lying on her beat up old couch that had previously belonged to her grandmother before Sharpay had been graciously given all of that woman's ancient, decaying furniture. The couch was in the worst shape with holes along the back and foam poking through as well as a spring which had recently burst free beneath the second cushion. Moaning, Sharpay rubbed her neck as she stiffly sat up. That couch was not comfortable. Standing, she glanced over to her bedroom door that she had closed tightly shut and sighed, overcome by her emotions.

It had been a week since the breakup but Sharpay was still in the thick of getting over the whole ordeal. When she had returned home on that awful night she had taken one look around her room and immediately lost any control she'd maintained over her tears. Her bedroom did nothing to help her escape her mind. If anything, it perpetuated any thought of Troy seeing as how he had left his mark everywhere. His shirt was left draped over her chair near the vanity table that he had bought for her. The book that he was in the middle of reading was left on her dresser, the page he had left off on held in place by her hair brush.

Sharpay saw that her bed sheets were left messy and crumpled. Falling to her knees at the foot of the bed, Sharpay took three deep breaths and tried to slow her crying. As she sat there she realized that the scent of Troy's cologne was still lingering in the fabric.

Sharpay knew that she was as much to blame for the breakup as Troy was. She had even suggested it, though she hadn't thought he'd be so quick to agree. Despite that fact, she was not ready to let go. Leaving her room untouched, Sharpay had determinedly shut her door and refused to go back in for a week. She knew it was ridiculous, but she just had this irrational fear of forgetting all the good memories once she packed Troy's things away and effectively cleaned him from her life.

'Just go in,' she firmly ordered herself, still watching the door as if it could open on its own. Taking the four steps it took to reach her bedroom door, Sharpay grasped the handle tightly in her hand as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'Any time now...'

She was still in that position when a loud knock on her front door startled her, causing her to jump away from the bedroom door, again.

'Maybe tomorrow,' she thought sadly as she patted down her hair before seeing who had knocked.


Troy resignedly dragged himself into his office. He was the first to arrive, as he had been all week. Flicking the lights on, he sank into his desk chair and dropped his head into his hands in defeat. He felt miserable. He hadn't been able to sleep again and he was afraid his work was starting to show it.

He sat there a while longer thinking about Sharpay. She had been invading his thoughts at every waking moment. He missed her, and he was angry with himself. He had been spending the past week of restless nights reflecting on their relationship. During that final argument he had heard the words that Sharpay had spoken but he hadn't understood the point that she was trying to make. Now that he'd had time to ruminate over their relationship, he was beginning to understand. And with that understanding came more misery. He had lost her and it was completely his fault.

"Yo, Troy!" Troy was startled out of his meditation by the voice of his long-time best friend, Chad Danforth. Chad had been Troy's roommate in college. They did everything together. They had participated on the same sports teams, they were accepted by the same grad school, and now they worked in the same office.

Raising his head, Troy focused his tired eyes on Chad in questioning.

"Boss-man wants to talk to you."

Troy's stomach flipped. Had his work suffered enough to get him fired? With drooping shoulders, Troy slowly shuffled out of his office and down the hallway toward the heavy wood door that separated the boss's office from the rest of the floor. With a deep breath, Troy raised his fist and confidently knocked on the door.


Putting on a large, though ultimately fake, smile Sharpay stepped off of the elevator and approached her desk. 'God, I hate my job'.

"Morning Taylor," she smiled sweetly at her coworker.

With a grimace, Taylor returned the greeting before putting the phone back to her ear and continuing her conversation about the different types of shampoo.

Picking up her own phone, Sharpay decided she was in desperate need of brotherly comfort. Dialing her brothers' phone number, she absentmindedly counted the number of rings it took for him to answer.

"How many?" came Ryan's voice on the other line.

"Four," she responded with the first real smile in a week.

"Not bad, considering I dropped the phone," he said with a chuckle. "So what's wrong? You never call me from work!"

Sharpay sighed. She should've known he'd pick up on her mood. They'd always been able to read each other unnaturally accurately, even considering how little contact they actually had these days. Unable to hold it in, Sharpay told Ryan the entire story, only pausing once to make sure Taylor wasn't listening in.

"Oh, Pay!" Ryan exclaimed sympathetically. "Why didn't you call me sooner? I would have been there to help you through this. A girl can't buy her own breakup ice-cream and eat it too!"

Sharpay gave a slight giggle at his lame attempt at a joke but she quickly sobered as more memories overtook her thoughts.

Sensing that his joke hadn't worked, Ryan continued in a more serious tone. "Pay, I just want you to know, I am so proud of you! I know how hard that must have been but you did absolutely the right thing. You were miserable with how he was treating you and you deserve much better than that. And, hey, look on the bright side – you will never have to go to one of those insufferable dinner parties ever again!"

Sharpay released a genuine giggle at that comment. That certainly was a bright side to this situation. The only bright side, but a bright side none the less.

"Shar?" Ryan interrupted her thoughts after a brief silence between the two. "You know you're going to have to clean up his stuff at some point. The fantasy has to end."


Pushing the heavy door open, Troy peaked through a crack before allowing his entire body to enter the foreboding bureau. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

Mr. Matsui looked up from the memo he was reading and fixed Troy with a stern gaze. "I've noticed you've been having a hard time lately, Troy," he began.

Afraid of where this was leading, Troy quickly interrupted in order to validly justify his poor performance. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far before Mr. Matsui raised his hand, gesturing for Troy's silence. Troy reluctantly obliged, too afraid of the consequences if he didn't.

"As I was saying," Mr. Matsui began again, "You seem to be down lately. And, though my heavy office door and general age gap may fool most of you, I do hear things. Now, what I heard about you and what I believe to be the cause of your work quality decline has something to do with a certain ex-girlfriend. Am I right to assume so?"

Still unsure as to where this conversation was leading them, Troy had no choice but to answer his boss with a curt nod.

Satisfied, Mr. Matsui continued on with his verbiage. "Right. Well, I am no stranger to the painful world of heartbreak. Of course, I also can't have you losing me any accounts because of it. Therefore, I have come up with a solution that I believe will work out swimmingly. As you know, one of our leading sister corporations is located in New York City. They are currently going through a time of great growth, which is wonderful news, but they need somebody who knows the business front and back to help them hire the correct people and to keep them moving in the right direction. I would like you, Troy, to be that person. This is a great responsibility and I will only send you if I feel you will be completely focused on the task at hand. But, I believe, once removed from any local reminders of this intrusive breakup that your mind will again be free to devote entirely to your work. Think about it, you have until tomorrow to decide."

Stunned by this offer, Troy didn't even move at Mr. Matsui's dismissal. Almost as though he were in a trance, Troy immediately responded, "Yes. Absolutely, yes."

Brows furrowed, Mr. Matsui looked at Troy quizzically. "Are you sure? Because, to be completely honest, I thought you would turn down my offer."

"Yes." Troy repeated. "Yes, I am sure."

Mr. Matsui nodded and again dismissed Troy who, this time, responded to the request and returned to his office. Sitting at his desk, Troy repeated in his head what had just happened. He hadn't even thought over the offer or considered any of the logistics that he would have to work out with this move. He just knew that the easiest way out of his current situation was to move all the way across the country. And he had just accepted that offer.


Another Week Later...

Entering her apartment after another long day of work, Sharpay looked intently at her closed bedroom door. 'Just go in,' she said to herself for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Closing the front door, she slowly approached the arduous threshold that she was having so much trouble crossing. Reaching down, she grasped the handle with her eyes closed and her breath held. 'Do it!'

Still holding her breath, she was startled away from the door by a loud knock on, once again, her front door. Scrunching her nose, she cursed under her breath before turning to answer the knock.

Forgoing the peephole, Sharpay grasped the handle and easily threw it open to greet whoever was on the other side. 'How come that was so easy?' Unfortunately, this was not someone she wished to see.

Face falling, Sharpay crossed her arms over her chest and adopted a defensive pose. "What do you want, Chad?" she asked angrily.

Chad gave her a sad smile and pushed his way through the frame. "I'm sorry if this is a bad time, I'm just here to drop off this box. It's your leftover stuff." He explained apologetically as he placed the box on her kitchen table.

"Oh," Sharpay replied, stunned. She hadn't been expecting that.

"Also, do you by any chance have Troy's stuff rounded up?" Chad asked abrasively.

Blanching at the sound of Troy's name, Sharpay lowered her gaze guiltily to the floor and quietly replied, "No, not yet."

An uncomfortable silence fell between the two as Sharpay kept her gaze on the ground and Chad tried to think of something to say. Softening, he gave up on declaring anything profound and instead placed his hand on her shoulder as he gently said, "This is tearing him up, too." Sharpay raised her eyes to meet Chad's again, this time with a little hope flickering through them before remembering that this whole situation was her fault. Just because it hurt him too, didn't mean that he was going to try to win her back. Forcing a smile on her face, Sharpay nodded in response to Chad's statement.

Without needing to say more, Chad quietly left the apartment with Sharpay pensively closing the door behind him.


Stepping off of the tarmac, Troy readjusted his grip on his briefcase as he scanned the large room full of waiting relatives', friends and business associates. This was the first time he had ever been to New York City. He had gone on business trips in the past but they were always to Los Angeles, a city he had already been familiar with due to its relatively close proximity to Albuquerque.

Seeing his name printed on a small sheet of notebook paper, Troy approached the woman holding it up. Giving her a small smile he couldn't help but to notice just how pretty she was, immediately having that thought shoved aside as an intense wave of guilt washed over him. 'I'm single!' he reminded himself, 'I'm allowed to notice prettiness again.' Unfortunately, his head and his heart were still at odds and the guilt refused to cease.

"Troy Bolton?" The woman asked, as Troy took the last couple steps toward this woman.

"That's me," he replied brashly. "And you must be Gabriella Montez, my new favorite co-worker." He flashed a charming smile as he stuck out his hand in a business-like gesture of greeting


Closing the door after Chad, Sharpay turned around and leaned her back against it as she looked around, deep in thought. Her apartment looked the same as it always had. It was a little messier, considering parts of her bedroom had moved out there, but for the most part it was unchanged. Yet it felt empty.

Shifting her gaze to the adjoining kitchen, Sharpay's eyes fell onto the box of her stuff that Chad had just brought in. This was all the stuff that she had never expected to see back in her apartment. Stepping towards it, Sharpay nervously peered inside. Mostly, it was clothing that she had left at Troy's place for when she spent the night. There were a couple CD's and some duplicates of any necessities that needed a place in both apartments.

With a sudden and slightly frightening burst of anger, Sharpay picked up the box and heaved it with an almighty grunt at the door that it had just come through. The box struck the door with a deafening thud and fell to the floor, spilling its contents in every which direction. Breathing hard from the effort, Sharpay stared down at what she had just thrown.

Suddenly, without even considering cleaning the mess she'd just made, Sharpay turned on her heal and confidently came upon her bedroom door. Grasping the handle, she didn't allow herself time for hesitation. With a simple turn and an effortless push Sharpay opened her bedroom door and finally allowed herself to enter the room that she had, just moments ago, been too afraid to change.


Finally, another update! I hope my chapters are worth the wait.

Notice how last chapter ended with a door closing and this chapter ended with a door opening. That may mean something more, if you catch my drift...

Anyway, please review