CHAPTER 7 – This and That

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm happy that people are reading this little experiment of mine. The pacing of the story is really fast and that's why I get to update a lot. I'm not really used to the fast-paced storyline but I'm getting the hang of it. It was easier for me since there really were not much details about High School Musicalitself except for the storyline of the characters. Anyway, hope I get reviews! And thanks to those who have given reviews! By the way, the musicale that I have picked out for this is the story of the movie Twelfth Night or better known now as She's the Man. But I have increased the participation of some characters; tweaked it just a bit. Hope you like it!

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"LEADS?!" Sharpay screamed when she saw the list of leads posted on the bulletin board.

"The roles are: Olivia Lennox – Gabriella Montez, Justin Drayton – Zeke Baylor, Monique Valentine – Sharpay Evans, Sebastian Hastings – Ryan Evans, Duke Orsino – Troy Bolton, and Viola Hastings – Michelle Richards," Ryan read out loud.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" Sharpay exclaimed. (AN: Teehee! Movie again!)

"I don't think so, Shar. This seems to be as real as real can be."

"There is no way that this is real. I mean, this is such a big mistake!"

"Okay, what's wrong?" Chad asked as he and the rest of his buds walked up to Sharpay and Ryan.

"This! And everything else in this world! Uh!" Sharpay exclaimed, walking away from them.

"Is this the leads?!" Chad asked in a loud tone, making Kelsi jump a little. "Since when did you audition for this kind of thing, Zeke?"

"I was curious! So I went to the auditions with Sharpay and Ryan; next thing I know I'm already listed here," Zeke defended. "Well, I can't back out now."

"You're one of the supporting leads," Kelsi said. "That's a big role."

"Now why is everyone suddenly singing show tunes and wearing leotards?!" Chad cried out.

"Kelsi, why didn't Gabriella get the lead?" Ryan suddenly asked her.

"Ms. Darbus said Michelle was perfect for the role, any way she looked at it. I can't really argue with that since I saw how good she sang out there. I don't disagree," she answered.

"But Troy got the lead guy role. That's just conflicting the story," Chad said, butting in. "Gabrielle should be the lead girl."

"But that's the final list, Chad. We can't do anything about that," Jason said.

"Hey, guys! What are you looking at?" Troy suddenly asked, coming up to them.

"You, Mister, just got the lead role for the winter musicale, again," Zeke said in a congratulatory tone.

"Hey, that's great! What role did Gaby get?" Troy asked.

"Supporting role," Jason said, earning stares from the group and Troy.

"Your new girlfriend just got the lead role with you," Chad stated in a sarcastic tone. "Happy?"

"New girlfriend? What are you talking about, Chad? I don't have a new-" Troy stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the list of leads. "Michelle got the lead."

"She had beaten out Gabriella and Sharpay for the lead," Kelsi said. "Sharpay's really upset."

"Don't worry about her, Troy. She'll get over it," Ryan said. "What you need to do now is find Gabriella and talk to her about it."

"Or better yet, find your new girlfriend and tell her to go climb Mt. Everest so she can abandon her role at the musicale," Chad said.

"What's wrong with Michelle getting the lead anyway? Look, if she made it then she stood out of everyone else. Just because Gabriella got the lead last musicale and Sharpay had starred in seventeen school productions doesn't mean that they can't be beaten out by just anybody," Troy explained.

"She's not just anybody, right, Troy?" Chad said. "She's Gabriella's replacement. So, Gabriella is more busy now than ever, which makes it hard for the both of you to spend time together. That doesn't mean you can just go off finding someone to take her place for a while. But lucky for you, Miss Perfect suddenly walked into your life."

"She is not. Chad, you know me better than this. I will never replace Gabriella for anyone else. Michelle is just my friend. So she got the lead, what's the big deal? This is not some weird thing that's connected in real life. This is showbiz. How can you connect this with my relationship with Gabriella and Michelle?"

"The big deal here is you give more importance to that girl than your girlfriend. Man, what's the big idea of helping her out with her audition piece? Has your brain gone haywire?!"

"There is nothing wrong with helping her! Since when was helping a big problem for you?"

"It's when this new girl gets in-between your relationship with Gabriella! For all we know she's not even who she says she is. Big answer, Troy! Taylor searched her out in Google and found out that she's LAHS school nerd. But many people doubted if she really was that smart. After all, her family is one of the richest in LA. For all we know she just bribed her way into East High, probably even the-"

All of them froze on their places when they saw Michelle staring at them, eyes wide with shock. Chad gave her a disgusted look before composing himself and looking away.

"Mitch…" Troy called out.

Michelle looked at him, tears starting to form in her eyes. Troy kept his eyes on her. She looked at all of them before running away and not looking back. Troy wanted to run after her but was pulled back by Chad, but let Ryan go after her instead. Troy watched as Ryan's retreating form became less and less seen.

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"Have you heard the news?" Gabriella listened as Taylor asked her.

"What news?" she asked as they waited in the lunch queue.

"Michelle Richards got the lead in the musicale. She beat you and Sharpay."

"Oh? That's great! I knew Mitch could do it!"

"Hello? Aren't you even a bit annoyed by that fact?"

"Why should I? Mitch made it and that's just wonderful news."

"Troy got the lead guy."

"Then that's even better! They'd be working side-by-side so Mitch won't have a hard time."

"Gabriella, didn't we just have that talk about her being your competition? What if she steals Troy away from you?"

"Tay, Mitch is not like that. Believe me, she isn't. Besides, why do you insist that she'll try to steal Troy away? Have we not discussed that you're gonna be cool with her now that she's part of the Scholastic Decathlon team?"

"I was, until I found out the rumors about he in her old school."

"What rumors?"

"Well, you know about her being the school's genius chick, right? But behind those eyeglasses and medals, her secret has been revealed. Daughter of a millionaire businessman and a model-actress, who knows if she paid her way into the limelight?"

"Taylor, that's stupid. Mitch would never do that. And where did you get information about her family background?"

"I searched in Google. Anyway, I'm just saying that you better get a hold of Troy's arm firmly before someone else does."

Gabriella just laughed Taylor's statement off as they sat down to eat their lunch. Kelsi suddenly arrived and sat beside Taylor. She sighed heavily and just stared up at the ceiling. Taylor and Gabriella gave her questioning looks.

"What's wrong, Kelsi?" Gabriella asked.

"Troy and Chad just had an argument about Michelle getting the lead role and not you," she replied, sighing even more. "Troy got aggravated that Chad's acting like a kid."

"What? Why would they fight about such a simple thing?"

"Chad said that Michelle paid her way to the musicale. Troy got annoyed at that and things just started popping out, until Michelle heard everything and ran away, probably even crying."

"What? Where's she now?"

"Who knows? Ryan ran after her when Troy was pulled back by Chad. I just hope the musicale will go as smoothly as possible. It's already too stressful. Having background tension is adding more to it."

"I doubt it, Kelsi. Not until that role-stealer steps down from her unstable throne," Taylor said, taking a bite off her sandwich.

"Where's Troy?" Gabriella asked, ignoring Taylor's comment.

"He's probably at the auditorium. He said he wanted to check out the set."

Gabriella stood up and left the two by themselves. She was going to look for Troy. She wanted to talk to him. Everything was starting to fall into pieces again. It's like what happened before. I gotta go fix this. I gotta go find Troy.

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Ryan Evans was panting. It was no surprise since he had almost ran a mile.For a girl, she runs fast. He stopped just a few steps behind her and watched as she came to a fast halt. Ryan observed her as she her sniffles continued to ring in his head. He composed himself and walked up behind her. He sighed and placed his hand gently on her shoulder, making her turn around suddenly.

Michelle looked at the person who startled her. She saw none other than Ryan Evans staring into his eyes with concern and worry etched in them. Michelle couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes anymore and cried out everything. Ryan gently pulled her close to him and held her as she cried.

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"Troy?" Gabriella called out to her boyfriend when she saw him on the stage staring out into the empty chairs. "Are you okay?"

"Gaby," Troy said without looking back at her. "Do you remember when we first sang on this stage?"

"During the callbacks? She asked, now standing beside him.

"No, it was when we were about to audition but we were not entertained by Ms. Darbus because we were late, and then we saw Kelsi slipped on the floor so we…"

"Ran up here and helped her up. After that, we sang the song that Ryan and Sharpay sang, only with how Kelsi had arranged it. Yeah, I remember that very clearly."

"We got callbacks on that very same day. And then the next, everyone's freaking out about it."

"But we made it through everything, and we'll make it through this too, Troy."

"I know. I'm just worried. She's not as strong as you are."

"Michelle is strong, Troy. She managed to survive everything back in LA. She can do that here too."

"But she might get tired of it all. You know she moved here to start anew, and now this happens."

"She's strong, Troy. Don't believe the rumors about her. Michelle would never do something like that."

"I know. It's just… Chad's really bugging me. I mean, he even thought I was cheating on you with Mitch."

"I know. Taylor's at it with me too. But you know I don't believe that."

"Gaby, I just… I like Mitch. She's a good friend. I don't know how long she's going to last with all this pressure around her."

"Troy, I know you're worried, but in times like this, you have to be strong. We have to be strong. As of this moment, we are her only friends. She needs us."

"Yeah, she does. We have to be there for her, 'cause, that's what friends are for."

"You're acting like a child, baby. But yes, that's correct."

"Gaby, how come you know me so well?"

"Simple: I love you."

Troy smiled and turned around to face his girlfriend. He touched her face gently before coming close to her and hugging her. He kissed her forehead and held her tight. Gabriella simply smiled and whispered an 'I love you' to him.

"I love you too, Gabriella. I love you."

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Ryan sighed as he sat down and handed Michelle a can of soda he had opened for her. She took a sip and sat there silently, looking at the sight before him. Ryan smiled at her observant look before taking a sip off his soda can.

"This is Troy's stage. Basketball superstar and most popular guy at East High. No one else can compare to him," Ryan began. "That's why everyone went haywire when they found out the little Miss Montez managed to turn his word upside-down and made him sing in front of the whole East High populace. It was a shock, especially to me and Shar. But eventually, everyone learned to accept that truth. There's more to Troy Bolton than meets the eye. He's not just the basketball guy; he's also an aspiring singer. And now look, he's happily in love with Gabriella – the freaky math girl, and is starring in another school production. Who would've thought?"

"Yeah, who would've thought?" Michelle whispered.

"This school has had its share of coming-out-of-closet moments. You're just adding to the list. But one thing about you, Mitch, is that nobody knows anything about you. You're just you! So there really is no problem with you being the lead in the musicale. You have nothing to prove, Mitch, except for who you really are. If you really want to do it, then no one's stopping you. That part was given to you because Ms. Darbus knows you're perfect for it. Don't think about what they say. Just do what you have to do."

"…"

"It's going to be alright, Mitch. You'll do great."

"…"

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you want to tell me something?"

"…"

"Mitch?"

"Three years ago, I was a freshman at the Los Angeles High School. Back in my grade school, I graduated valedictorian with straight-As and a scholarship right in my pocket. But we moved to LA and that's where I continued my studies. After just a few weeks, I managed to become so popular for my brains, at the same time earning myself enemies, so-called friends and rumors. I was weak back then and I cried a lot whenever they talked about me. I was oblivious to the fact that my friends were nothing more than abusers who just wanted to get a hold of my brains and my family's money."

"…"

"Then I found out, but I didn't say anything. I just let them abuse me even more. Then one day, things just started to get rough. The head cheerleader of our school was shouting at me about flirting with her boyfriend, the school's basketball captain. She kept on pushing me and I just let her. We were outside that time and everyone just stared. Until my brother came and helped me. He was a school jock – very opposite from me. He pushed away the head cheerleader when he saw her pulling my hair while I was just left lying on the grass. On that same time, the captain of the basketball team, the head cheerleader's boyfriend, just happened to have walked by and saw the whole pushing thing. He quickly punched my brother right smack on the face. My brother fought back, but the guy just didn't want to give up. Suddenly, he pushed my brother on the street. My brother was hit on the head and had a hard time getting up. Then, I heard a sound I was dreading to hear and everything went bleak. I woke up and saw bandages all over me, but I couldn't say anything. I just went silent."

"Mitch…"

"My brother died defending me, Ryan. And I can't help but feel guilty for jot being able to do anything about it. I was weak. If only I were strong at that time, my brother wouldn't have died. If only…"

"It's not your fault, Mitch. Your brother just did what he had to do and what he wanted to do."

"Yeah, but his role as a brother did not listed dying."

"Is that what you're running away from, Mitch? You're afraid that people will hurt you again?"

"I'm okay with people not liking me. I'm used to that. I'm just scared; scared that I might lose another person in my life just because I wasn't strong enough."

"But you are strong, Mitch. You're as strong as strong can be. You just have to have the confidence. You don't need to physically fight back. You need to fight back the way Michelle Richards would fight back: with talent and brains."

"My talent and my brains are the only thing left in my life. I used to have my brother, now I don't."

"But you still got your parents."

"But it's not the same. You know that feeling that you can just share anything and everything to your closest sibling without any care in the world, because, you know that your sibling will always back you up even if you are at your lowest. That's how I feel about Troy. He's like, he's like my lost brother. He backed me up when everyone else just thought of me as another rich girl buying her way into everything. And, I don't want to lose Troy just because I was not strong enough to fend myself off of everyone's insults and mockery. "

"Troy's not the only person caring for you, Mitch. You've Gabriella. She helped you too, right? And, you got me here. Why'd you think I chased you all around East High?"

"Thanks, Ryan."

"Troy won't leave you, Mitch. Neither will I nor Gabriella. We'll back you up the way your brother would've. So pull yourself together and get on that stage and sing your heart out."

"You just said something that my brother would've told me."

"I did? Well, in that case, it's official."

"What's official?"

"I'm going to be your new brother; aside from Troy, that is."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Ryan, that's not exactly how I put it."

"No worries. I'm cool with it. You're better of a sister than Sharpay is anyway."

"Hey! I heard that!" Sharpay suddenly exclaimed, coming out of her hiding place.

"Shar? How long have you been there?" Ryan asked, shocked at seeing his sister.

"It doesn't matter. I heard everything you said, Michelle, and I'm sorry if I ever thought badly about you. Look, if you're looking for a brother, then you will need a sister. I'll take that job! So now, we're one big happy family!" Sharpay squealed, hugging Michelle tightly.

"Uh…that's great. Thanks, Sharpay. And Ryan too," Michelle said, giving Ryan a look of wonder.

Ryan laughed and was startled when Sharpay suddenly hugged him. He hugged her back and pulled Michelle towards them to have a group hug. The three smiled and walked out of the auditorium together. Practices were about to start tomorrow and they needed to prepare for the welcome of a new star.