Older Guy

Summary: See Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.

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The next day

Sharpay walked downstairs and went to the kitchen. She sat on a stool on the island. She took a Granny Smith apple from the bowl in the middle of the table. Just then, Gwen walked in. She sat on a stool drinking coffee. "Good morning, Sharpay," she said.

Sharpay smiled and said, "Good morning."

It was quiet for a few more minutes until Gwen broke the silence. "Do you want to hang out today? Just us girls? We never spend time together like we used to," she asked.

Sharpay looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Mom, I'm getting older. That's the reason why we don't spend time together. But you didn't have to add that 'We don't spend time together' thing. I would love to hang out with you…as long as you don't make us get matching outfits," Sharpay said. Gwen and Sharpay laughed.

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Gwen and Sharpay walked out the mall with like twenty bags each, laughing. They got in the car and started to drive home. They spent the first few minutes talking about how much fun they had. Then it got quiet. "Are you happy? With Zeke?" Gwen asked Sharpay after a moment.

Sharpay looked at her and said, "Yes. At least I think so. I thought I loved him. Maybe it's strong like. I don't know."

"What was that last night?" Gwen asked.

"Troy likes me. He told me he wanted to be my boyfriend. Seeing how close we are and how much he likes me, he couldn't stand that I was giving Zeke all of my attention," Sharpay explained.

"You like him, don't you?" Gwen asked.

"I guess I do. It's confusing. I really want to be with Zeke, but I like Troy? We have so much fun and he always finds a way to calm me down. I just don't think it's fair to Zeke. If I really do like Troy as much as I think I do, it's wrong to string Zeke along. I just need time to think," Sharpay said. Gwen nodded. Sharpay took out her cell phone and sent Zeke a text.

Zeke, cum 2 my house this afternoon. I really need 2 tlk 2 u about sumthing important.

Then she put it away and sighed. It was quiet the rest of the way home.

At the house

When Gwen and Sharpay walked in the house, Troy and CJ attacked them from behind. They picked them up and spun them around. Gwen and Sharpay laughed. When they put them down, Sharpay dropped her bags and tackled Troy. Unfortunately, Troy overpowered her and rolled her over. Then he started tickling her. Sharpay began laughing hysterically. Gwen and CJ watched them, smiling. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Gwen went to answer the door.

"Zeke, hi," she said.

Zeke smiled and said, "Hey, Mrs. Evans. Is Sharpay here?"

Gwen nodded and said, "Yeah, she's on the floor."

Zeke arched an eyebrow and said, "Ookay." Gwen let him in.

They walked into the living room. When Zeke walked in, a frown appeared on his face. He saw Sharpay on her hands and knees trying to get away and Troy bent over her, tickling her. Sharpay fell over, causing Troy to fall on top of her. She managed to push Troy off her. Then she looked up to see her smiling parents and Zeke, who was less enthused. "Zeke! Hi, baby!" she said. Then she ran up and hugged him."I'm glad you could make it."

He hugged back, but not as tight. "Well, you wanted me to come over," Zeke said, putting emphasis on "wanted" to piss Troy off(1). It worked. Troy scoffed, shook his head with an angry smile, clenched his fists, and looked away. Zeke had a satisfied smile on his face. Sharpay felt the tension, so she thought quickly.

"Yeah, I needed to talk to you. So how about you help me carry my bags upstairs and we can talk," Sharpay said with a suggestive smile playing on her lips.

"Alright," Zeke said with that same smile. He walked past her and picked up half of her bags. When he started up the stairs, Sharpay's smile faded. Now, she looked sad. She looked at her mom. Gwen nodded. Sharpay turned back around and sighed. Troy looked at her, confused. CJ looked at her, concerned. Sharpay picked up the rest of her bags and started walking upstairs. When she got to her room, Zeke was waiting on the bed. "Alright, you ready to talk?" he asked with that same smile. Sharpay put on a half smile. "Okay, Zeke. Let's talk."

******

"Damn, Shar. I didn't think you actually wanted to talk," Zeke said, getting off her.

Sharpay sat up and fixed her shirt. "Well, I did say I wanted to talk to you," she said.

"But you had that smile," Zeke explained.

"That was to get you upstairs," Sharpay told him.

"Oh," Zeke said, disappointed.

"I'm sorry for giving you the wrong idea," Sharpay apologized.

"It's alright. I'm a little horny today anyway," Zeke assured her.

Sharpay giggled and said, "Okay."

Zeke looked at Sharpay and asked, "What's up?"

Sharpay sighed and said, "Ok, Zeke. Here's the deal."

--

Troy and CJ stood outside the door. They were listening the whole time. It took all their willpower not to bust in their after hearing what Zeke said.

Gwen walked upstairs and looked at them. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Shhh," they said.

She raised an eyebrow at them. "Whatever is going on in there is their business and Curtis, you should be ashamed of yourself," she said.

"But she's my daughter," CJ whined.

"And you should trust her. Let's go," Gwen said, pulling him away. Troy chuckled and kept listening.

--

"I don't want to string you along. I'm sorry," Sharpay said, looking down. She looked back up to see a very, very pissed off Zeke.

"So, you're breaking up with me, because a guy likes you and you think you like him back?!" he exclaimed.

Sharpay jumped. "Zeke, I'm-," she started.

"And you don't want to hurt me?!" he interrupted.

Sharpay jumped again. "Zeke, I'm-," she tried again.

"Don't you know you're hurting me by breaking up with me?!" he exclaimed. Sharpay didn't say anything. "Huh?!" Zeke yelled. This time, Sharpay jumped up off the bed. Zeke stood up with his fists clenched. "So, who is this guy, Sharpay? Huh?" Zeke asked, walking closer. Sharpay started backing up. "Who is it, Sharpay?" Zeke asked again, getting impatient. Sharpay kept backing up. "Who is it?!" Zeke yelled. Sharpay hit the wall with a thud. Zeke was in her face now. "Who?!" he yelled, grabbing her arms.

"Troy!" Sharpay screamed, answering his question.

Troy, on the other hand, thought she was calling him and barged into the room. When Troy saw what was going on, he immediately took action. He quickly went over there and pushed Zeke away from Sharpay. "Get your hands off her!" he exclaimed. Zeke, who got a lot more pissed when Troy touched him, swung at Troy with all his might. Troy, with his fast reflexes, ducked, and Zeke hit Sharpay instead. Zeke didn't even care. Sharpay fell to the floor, holding her face in pain. She could practically feel the bruise forming. This put Troy in overdrive. He went at Zeke with everything in him.

When it was all said and done, Troy had Zeke pinned up against the wall. He was still fuming. "If you ever put your hands on her again, I swear, I will break every bone in your body. Now, get the hell out of here and if you don't want that message repeated, don't bring your ass back," Troy spat. Then he let go of Zeke and pushed him out the door. Then Troy went to talk to Sharpay. She had crawled out onto the balcony and sat in one of the chairs. Troy's anger subsided when he saw her crying. He went over and sat in the chair with her. He picked her up and put her in his lap. He just let her cry while he rubbed her back and rocked her. "Shh, Sharpay, it's okay. It's all over now. I'm here. I'll never let him do that to you again, I promise. I'm so sorry, Pay. I love you," Troy whispered to her.

By the time he was finished, Sharpay had stopped crying. Now, she was just sniffing. She looked at him and smiled. Troy smiled back. He noticed the bruise on Sharpay's left cheek and gently kissed it. Sharpay winced a bit. Then it felt a little better. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," Troy whispered.

Sharpay was quiet. Then she said, "I'm just glad you were there." Troy smiled. "It's like you were right outside the door," Sharpay said, raising an eyebrow at him. He chuckled. There was an awkward silence as they stared at each other. Troy leaned forward and stopped when their lips were inches apart. Sharpay smiled. "I don't know what I would do without you, Troy. Thank you so much for being here for me," Sharpay said.

Troy smiled. Sharpay couldn't resist it anymore, so she closed the gap between them. They closed their eyes and let the sensation between them take over. Sharpay, without breaking away, straddled Troy. She wrapped her arms around his neck while Sharpay wrapped his arms around her waist, as if they were trying to pull each other closer than they they didn't want to, they broke the kiss so they could breathe. They put their foreheads together. They were both breathing hard. They just stared at each other and smiled. After they caught their breath, Sharpay was the first to speak.

"I think I have feelings for you," she said.

"Cool," Troy said. Sharpay bit her lip and smiled. "So, do you wanna, like, go out with me? Like a-," Troy started.

He stopped when Sharpay sat up. She smiled widely at him. "Troy Alexander Bolton, are you asking out on a date?" she asked.

He nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess I am." He smiled back. "So, how about Friday?"

Sharpay nodded. "Okay," she said, like a little school girl. Then she got up. She positioned herself so her back was lying against Troy's chest. He wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her smiled. He finally got the girl he's always wanted and it took all this. At first, he just wanted her for her looks, but now that he's gotten to know her, he realized that there is way more to her than that. She was a trooper. "Please don't tell my parents," Sharpay whispered, interrupting Troy's thoughts. He looked down at her. Her eyes were still closed.

"Why?" he asked. "They should know."

"I know, but I don't want them to make a big scene. Especially my dad. He would kill Zeke. As much as I want him dead right now, I would wake up missing him. I know it. So promise me you won't. Tell me," Sharpay said, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Troy sighed and said, "I promise I won't tell."

"Thanks, Troy," Sharpay said, smiling.

Troy lightly kissed her forehead. "No problem," he said, smiling back.

The next day

Gwen woke up extra early to start dinner;the butlers and chefs had the day off. She decided to check on everyone before she checked CJ. He was sleep. She checked Troy. He was sleep. She expected Sharpay to be sleep, too, but when she opened the door, Sharpay was curled up on her bed, crying. She walked in and shut the door. She approached Sharpay and sat on the bed."What's wrong?" she asked. Sharpay shook her head. "Don't give me that," Gwen said.

"Mo-mom, I'm, I'm f-fine. I-I'll be be-better at break-breakfast. I pr-promise," Sharpay cried. Gwen sighed. She figured she wouldn't say anything if she didn't want to. She stood up and left the room.

At breakfast

Sharpay was the last one to go downstairs. She quietly sat at the island. She didn't look at anyone, but they looked at her. Sharpay picked at her breakfast. She wasn't all that hungry, even though she was up most the night crying. She was crying, because she kept thinking about the incident with Zeke. It kept replaying in her mind. It seemed to repeat the part when he hit her the most.

She thought about how sweet and kind Zeke was and then how there was a sudden change. His anger got the best of him. Just thinking about it at breakfast brought tears to her eyes. She was determined to not let them fall.

Troy looked at Sharpay, concerned. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he couldn't for some reason. He looked at her parents and they looked at him. He gave them a look. They nodded and left he room.

Troy looked at Sharpay again. She still didn't look up. He reached over and placed his hand on her knee. She looked up at him, her eyes puffy. Troy's eyes softened. "What's wrong?" he asked. Sharpay didn't look say ,she looked down again. Troy lightly squeezed her knee. "Sharpay?" he asked. Sharpay gently pushed his hand away, stood up, and quickly walked out the kitchen.

Troy got up and ran after her. When he got close enough to grab her, they were near the pool. He turned her around to see tears rolling down her face. She hugged him like her life depended on it and just cried. Troy hugged her back just as tight. Seeing her like that made him sad.

"Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong," Troy begged. Sharpay was crying so hard that she was shaking.

"I keep thinking about it," she said, "It keeps replaying over and over. Especially when he…" she trailed off. Troy knew what she was talking about. "He was so sweet and nice, but he changed. He showed me his true side. It hurts just thinking about," Sharpay explained. She kept crying.

Troy rubbed her back and said, "Shhh. It's okay. It's all over now. Calm down."

Those words seemed to soothe Sharpay, because she slowly calmed down. She looked at him and sniffed. He looked at her and wiped her tears. Sharpay laughed and shook her head. "I'm such a drama queen," she said. "So emotional."

Troy chuckled. "After all this, I would be scared if you weren't. You're just cute,that's all," he said.

"No I'm not," Sharpay said in a baby voice.

Troy lightly kissed her. "Yes you are," he said.

Sharpay smiled. "Thank you, Troy. For being here by my side," Sharpay said.

"Anytime," he said, picking her up bridal style and carrying her inside.

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Reviews!

(1)-He was referring to back when Troy first got there and Sharpay didn't want him there and that she wanted Zeke to there at that time.