"Your hair feels thicker."

"That's a mop head, Troy."

"Well… That would explain it."

Sharpay felt the air behind Troy's head, reaching for the string that would turn the light on. Once it was in between her fingers she gave it a tug, lighting up the small room. "This is ridiculous."

"No." Troy smirked. " This is a broom closet."

Sharpay used her ring finger to wipe stray gloss from around her lips. There was some on her neck that had jumped ship from Troy's lips, but with being pressed between his body and a broom closet door, she wasn't too worried about it. For the past four days, ever since he'd spent the night, this had been their normal meet up spot for the middle of last period. Not one of Sharpay's better ideas, but smelling like lemon Clorox for the next hour was a small price to pay to be making out with Troy Bolton. To have Troy Bolton nipping at your shoulder. To have Troy Bolton's hands caressing you…

The only hitch was having Troy Bolton's ever-present girlfriend lurking the school hallways.

Sharpay pouted. "If you just picked one of us we wouldn't be here."

"Shar."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just-" Sharpay let out a sigh and let her head fall forward.. "You're going to have to tell her sooner or later."

"I know that." Troy confirmed, nudging her chin upwards with his knuckles to meet his eyes. God those eyes. It took all of Sharpay's strength not to melt against him. "But right now I'm here with you." He slid his hand to cup her cheek, pressing his mouth to hers. Sharpay snaked an arm around his neck, drawing him closer. When his other hand curled around her waist and held tight, she smiled against his lips. Who was she kidding? She was a pile of butter right now. Once she had gone as long as she could playing tag with Troy's tongue, she pulled back for a breath. Troy tilted his head forward, leaning his forehead against hers. "Isn't that enough?"

Sharpay brushed her fingers through the hair at the nape of Troy's neck. She felt him shiver slightly despite the ever-growing heat in the cramped closet. "For now."

She tiptoed up to place a lingering kiss on his swollen lips, hating that they were in school and not at home where they could do this for as long as they wanted without anyone interrupting. Maybe more. Wait, more? Oh god, Troy was turning her into a horny high school teenager. "Come on," She whispered as she pulled away, interlacing her fingers with his and squeezing. "Before the teachers get curious."

/

"Dude, are you wearing lip gloss?"

Troy swiped the back of his hand over his lips. Shit. He thought he'd gotten all of it off. "Chapstick. My, uh, my lips were dry."

"Dude, I won't judge. That stuff smells good and it's shiny and makes your lips super smooth and…" Troy raised an eyebrow at Jason. Jason stared back. "Or... you know. So I hear..."

"I'm almost positive that it's chapstick."

Luckily Jason was easy to believe what he was told, as opposed to say Chad or Zeke. He just shrugged and looked back at the map of Europe they were supposed to be labeling with the countries created after the first World War. Ten more minutes of class passed without any work accomplished. The sound of the bell ringing was the only thing to temporarily distract Troy. The only topic on his mind was Sharpay. And Gabriella. And kissing Sharpay when he should be kissing Gabriella. And kissing Gabriella when he wants to kiss Sharpay. He had no idea how he was going to get through the rest of the semester like this.

He'd barely taken two steps out of the classroom when a pair of arms snaked over his dark blue polo and squeezed. Luckily, he'd trained himself to recognize the difference between Sharpay's arms and Gabriella's arm. When Gabriella hugged, she squeezed him with her fists closed and kissed his back over his shirt. When Sharpay hugged, she slid her palms over his abs and pressed her cheek against his back. He wasn't sure which he preferred- they both felt pretty good to him. But the lips that just pressed into his back told him it was Gabriella. He did a quick swipe over his lips with his forearm to make sure all traces of eh, Chapstick, were gone before turning around.

"Hey Brie," He grinned, transferring his books to his other hand and draping his free arm around Gabriella's tiny shoulders. "How was Calculus?"

"Same old." Gabriella smiled as Troy pressed his lips to the side of her head. "History?"

Troy blinked. Well the highlight was the ten-minute make out session in between the lesson and labeling the map. "Same old." He repeated.

"Do you want to hang out tonight?" Gabriella asked, snuggling into Troy's side as they turned the corner.

"Mmm, what were you thinking?"

"I don't know…" Troy pulled his arm back, ready to open his locker. Gabriella had other plans, apparently, tugging at his arm so that his back was to the locker. "Dinner?" Troy nodded. Food. Yes. Good. He turned his head, stuffing his history stuff onto one of the metal shelves in the tiny locker. He felt Gabriella's body weight lean against him and he looked back at her, her brown eyes much closer than they had been five seconds ago. He raised an eyebrow down at his girlfriend as she slid her arms around his neck. "Dessert?"

Was it a terrible thing if he wasn't horribly excited for whatever Gabriella had planned? The night could unfold in two ways. One: they would order in pizza or Chinese and then make out for a little bit. Two: they would order pizza or Chinese and then go get ice cream. Either way, the possibility of take out got Troy excited. He grinned and leaned down to meet her lips. "Sounds good."

He felt her fingers tracing circles at the back of his neck as she kept on her toes to reach his lips. Troy let his arms routinely wrap around her waist. "Break it up, slobber hounds. This is East High, not Lovers Peak."

Gabriella pulled away suddenly, blushing violently as she turned to the voice. "Oh. Hi, Sharpay." She seemed to relax visibly when she realized it was only Sharpay walking towards them. Troy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and Gabriella leaned her cheek against Troy's chest. Troy noticed Sharpay's jaw clench at the movement. Her brown eyes finally met his and she raised a light eyebrow at him. Troy swallowed the awkwardness in his throat: the awkward I'm-trying-to-be-a-good-boyfriend-but-the-girl-I-want-to-kiss-is-two-feet-away-watching-us awkwardness.

"Anyway. Troy, I was hoping you could come over tonight and we could work on our Spanish dialogue."

Translation in Sharpay biting her lip: I was hoping you could over tonight and we could work on our Spanish dialogue for three seconds and then make out for an hour.

"Brie and I just made plans. Maybe tomorrow?"

Translation in Troy's arched eyebrow: Don't tempt me while I'm trying to be a good boyfriend.

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Sharpay paused, mustering up her acting talents as a frail smile came to her face. "I'm sure I can figure it out by myself for a night."

Translation in that smile: Feel guilty, Gabriella.

Gabriella looked up at Troy. "We can hang out tomorrow, Troy. It's not a big deal." Bingo! "I'm sure Sharpay needs you more than I do."

Translation in the smirk Sharpay flashed Troy: Damn straight I do.

/

"How do you do that?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, Bolton."

"You can play innocent around everyone else." Troy's voice was suddenly very close and Sharpay could feel his breath on her ear and his arms around her waist. "But I know better."

Sharpay bit her lip as Troy kissed under her ear softly. Had Troy really never had sex before? Because he had the seducing part down a fucking T. She felt like she was being touched by Fabio- without his long hair getting in the way. She turned around in his strong basketball arms, placing her palms on his chest and looking up at him. "You think you're so- Jesus Christ, Troy, please tell me that's your phone that's vibrating."

Troy rolled his blue eyes, keeping an arm around Sharpay. He pulled his phone from his pocket while she smirked and grabbed his polo with clenched fists, pulling him backwards towards the bed. Troy didn't bother to look at the caller ID while Sharpay turned and pushed him back against the mattress. "Hello?" He managed to get out before Sharpay kissed him.

"Troy? Hi, it's me."

Was it Troy, or did the room just get very uncomfortable?

Sharpay must've heard Gabriella's voice because she pulled back and looked at the phone in his hand. "Quiero… mire.. los dulces con.. la biblioteca."

Gabriella's laugh sounded from the other side. "She wants to have watched the sweets with the library? What kind of dialogue are you guys working on?"

"She meant to say…" Troy trailed off, Sharpay shrugged. "I don't know. I think she's been hanging around Jason too much."

Sharpay swatted Troy's chest, and then proceeded to bury her face in the nook of Troy's neck. Bad idea for two reasons. One, Troy was ticklish. Two, it was going to be hard to concentrate on talking to Gabriella. Girlfriend Gabriella. Sweet Gabriella Trusting Gabriella.

Troy closed his eyes, unsure of whom he was trying to block out at the moment. "I just called to tell you Taylor told me about prom tickets. On sale tomorrow. That is… if you were planning on taking me."

He could have sworn he felt Sharpay's lips curve into a devious smile as they made their way up his jawbone. "Of course. Who else would I take?" His arm involuntary tightened around Sharpay's torso.

"Nice invitation, Troy. Very romantic."

"Tell her you've only got room for one snippy girl at a time, " Sharpay whispered into Troy's ear.

"Shh. Be nice."

"Be nice to who?" Even though Sharpay couldn't see Gabriella, she could practically picture the confused look on her face. She nipped at his shoulder before she buried her face into Troy's skin to hide the victorious grin on her face.

"Sorry. Sharpay- She's… she's mad at her lip gloss."

"You want her to be nice to her make-up?"

"Well, it's a nice flavor." Troy didn't realize what he'd said until Sharpay looked up at him with her brown eyes locked in an incredulous gaze. "Shade! Brand. I meant- uh, I don't know. What do girls look for in lip gloss exactly?"

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." If fine meant horribly guilty.

There was a silence before Gabriella spoke again. An uncomfortable silence where all he could hear was Gabriella breathing on the other line and all he could see was Sharpay staring at him questioningly. "I'll let you get back to Sharpay then. Call you later?"

"Okay."

"Love you, Wildcat."

"You too."

He clapped the phone closed and looked at Sharpay, half on top of him, while she stared back. "I should go."

Sharpay searched Troy's eye for a moment, narrowing hers slightly. "You don't want to."

"No. I don't."

"Troy, what's the matter?"

"Nothing. Besides the fact that I'm the biggest asshole and worst boyfriend ever."

"I'm not complaining."

"You wouldn't be, would you? But if you were Gabriella-"

"Troy."

"Shar."

They stayed there staring at each other for what felt like twenty minutes. Finally, Sharpay broke eye contact and rolled away from Troy, walking over to the door. She pulled it open and gestured out to the hallway. "Go. If you're going to be hung up on-" Sharpay swallowed Gabriella's name down her throat. She couldn't say it. "her, then go. Have dinner or go to the movies or whatever the hell it was you had planned before I so rudely intervened."

Troy sat up on the bed, his eyes permanently locked on Sharpay's. Even from across the room she could see them perfectly. "Sharpay."

"You obviously want to be with her. You obviously can't stop thinking about her. And I'm obviously just a phase you've grown out of."

Troy stood up, a hint of pain behind his creased forehead. "Sharpay, you're-"

"I hope you two have a happy life together. You and your… picket fence house and science fair children. Eventually she'll realize that you have a birthmark behind your right ear. That if you kiss the birthmark, the muscles in your arm tense up. Or that right before you close your locker you look up and down the hallway, like you're being watched. That you're, probably, the only guy in our class to use shampoo that smells like strawberry. Or that by the end of the day you have the tiniest hint of five o'clock shadow. That while kissing you, you like the hair at the back of your neck played with. Or that right before you wake up, like three seconds before, you start mumbling because you're coming out of a dream." Sharpay hadn't realized how hard she'd been gripping the doorknob until she looked down and saw her white knuckles. She took in a quiet breath, not sure of where all of what she said had come from. She wished she could take it back. She'd said too much. She wanted to go back in time and stop herself before she could start. Her heart was beating like crazy and her mouth was dry. Her stomach felt like she's just drank Coke and ate some mentos. Her mind was racing. Wait. Weren't those the symptoms of the disease commonly referred to as… as…

Love?

She looked up and met Troy's eyes. Fuck.

Her tone noticeably softened when she said, "But then again, you've been together for two years. I'm sure she knows all of that."

"Maybe." Troy took a careful step closer, like he was approaching something dangerous. And Sharpay in love was dangerous. Very very very dangerous. "But if she has, she's never made it known."

Sharpay didn't know why, but something inside the pit of her stomach was causing tears to well up in her eyes. She blinked them back before Troy could notice in his careful advances. "Just go. Please." She mumbled. All she wanted was to figure out what she was feeling. How she could stop it. And if she even wanted to.

Troy opened his mouth to say something, and Sharpay swallowed her anxiety down again. After a few seconds he gave a defeated nod and walked out of the door without saying anything more. No protests. Nothing. A small piece of Sharpay was disappointed but she closed the door behind him nonetheless. She let out a dramatically loud grunt as she leaned back against the white door and slide down to the bottom. Love? No. Sharpay Evans was not in love. She just liked sneaking behind Gabriella's back. And kissing Troy. And touching Troy. And being with Troy. And having Troy give her that you're-the-only-person-in-the-room look. And thinking about Troy. And… Maybe she was in love.

Not that he was going to find out about it.

She was screwed. Troy wasn't going to break up with Gabriella. They were going to grow up together, get married, have kids, and be that stereotypical Americana family. Troy already knew that she liked him. She'd stood on his doorstep and told him. Told him that she really liked him. But this was different. This was love. She could barely handle seeing Troy and Gabriella together when she only liked him. She couldn't even fathom how hard it was going to be now that she'd fallen in love. Stupid Troy Bolton. Stupid Troy Bolton and his easily lovable personality. Sharpay pushed herself up from the plush carpet and started over towards her bed. She was planning on falling face first into the pillow and sleeping this feeling off- if that would even work. Her mind would probably just torture her with dreams of Troy Bolton.

She heard someone knock on the door behind her and she turned around slowly. Was it Troy? Did he come back? Was she going to think every knock on the door from now on was from him? She took a slow breath and held it as she pulled the door open. There he was. Standing there. Smiling at her like there was nothing wrong.

"Mom and dad went off to Dubai. They told me to-"

Sharpay let out her breath, "Ugh! Ry, I don't care if they went to fucking Fiji!"

Ryan looked confused as the door was shut in his face. Sharpay banged her head on the door lightly. "Pull it together, Sharpay, you're going crazy."

She heard another knock on the door and she pulled it open. "What, Ryan? I'm not in the mood."

"Just wondering why you're not inviting Troy in. But whatever."

Sharpay didn't even have time to roll her eyes at her brother. They were too busy looking out into the hallway and seeing Troy leaning next to her door. He looked away from Ryan and met her confused stare. He stood up straighter, looking down at his feet. "I figured I'd wait it out. I mean," He looked up at her. "You had to come out of your room sometime, right?"

Sharpay didn't blink. Didn't smile. Didn't move towards him. Nothing. She was too afraid that if she did, he'd somehow know that her feelings had changed- gotten deeper. "And what if I hadn't come out."

He shrugged, shifting his weight on his feet. "I suppose I would've came in."

Sharpay couldn't help herself. He was too cute. And he wasn't even trying. He was just… being Troy. And she loved it. That's why she couldn't help herself from pulling Troy over and down to meet her lips. Okay. So she loved Troy Bolton. Now she just had to get Troy Bolton to love her back.

Using any means necessary.