AN: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but knowing what has to be wrote, and writing it, are two different things entirely, lol.
Chapter 7 - A New Cast
After the lesson, Ryan went to Darbus' office, meekly. Gabriella was just going to get Troy from basketball practise, and would then meet him in the auditorium for the rehearsals. Knocking quietly, he heard a faint theatrical voice telling him to enter, which he did, closing the door behind him.
"Uh..Miss Darbus…."
"Ryan!" She screeched, rushing over to him. "It's so nice to see you! I thought the show was doomed to failure without you here to support Troy's performance! The boy does try, but he needs additional support from a professional like you! And where is our young star!"
"Um…Sharpay's rehearsing. With Kelsi." He muttered. "…How did Gabriella do last week?"
"That doesn't matter, surely!" She said. "Not that it matters, but the chemistry between such a couple was, of course, electric! But Sharpay shone much brighter than her in auditions, so it is Sharpay that has won the part!"
"….So it was good." Ryan muttered, translating the Darbus language. "Miss….I really need to have a serious word with you."
Afterwards, Ryan snuck into the auditorium, where to both his relief and sadness, Kelsi was onstage playing the piano, while Sharpay belted out one of her solos for the show. He looked at her sadly, and shuddered when she lifted her arms up, and he saw that her skin was clutching tightly to her bones.
"That was great, Sharpay." Smiled Kelsi, picking up her sheet music.
"Who said you were done?" Sharpay snapped, snatching the sheet music and putting it back on the piano. "I say when you're done, and I want to go through it again."
"You don't need to…" Stammered Kelsi. "It really is amazing. Really. I mean…I never thought the song could sound that good."
"Well I want to do it again!" Sharpay shoved Kelsi towards the piano chair, and Kelsi fell onto it. Trying not to remember how boney Sharpay's hand had felt, Kelsi quickly set up the sheet music. She was about to start playing when her cell phone beeped with a text message.
"Um…hold on Sharpay." She stuttered awkwardly, before opening the message. It was from Ryan. 'Leave the song, Kels. I'm at the back of the room, don't tell Shar. She doesn't need to do the song, trust me.'
"Who was it?" Said Sharpay, nosily. She went to look at the text message, but Kelsi quickly turned her phone off.
"Nothing. Look, why don't you do some scales? Or you can sing some…other songs?"
"I. Want. To. Sing. This. One." Sharpay glared at her. Kelsi bit her lip nervously, trying to find a way to stand up to Sharpay, without blurting out what she knew about her weight problem.
"W-well…Um….You--"
"Sharpay….hi." Kelsi let out a sigh of relief, and Sharpay spun round at the sound of her name. Gabriella had just come from the backstage area.
"What do you want, Montez?" Sharpay spat. Just the sight of her made Sharpay feel ill.
"I just…wanted to see how you were." Gabriella said, awkwardly. "Um….good vacation?"
"Not really. And not like it's any of your business." Sharpay tried to shoo her away with her hand, but knew that wouldn't work. Gabriella wasn't Kelsi, she wasn't intimidated by her mere presence.
"…Have you spoke to Ryan?" She asked, persisting in her questioning. Sharpay rolled her eyes.
"Why would anyone want to see Ryan?" She said. Gabriella stayed quiet again.
"Troy…really likes doing the show." She said. "He was telling me last week what an amazing actress and singer you are…" Sharpay's head shot up to look at Gabriella, and inside she was smiling. 'This is it, Sharpay. She's about to tell you that you've won. That Troy's seen how amazing you are, and that he's dumped her.'
"And? Your point?" Sharpay said, her voice trembling slightly.
"…And he's right." Gabriella said, smiling. "You really are the best actress I've ever seen." Sharpay was about to grin, before Gabriella added, "Which is why you don't need to do this to yourself."
"Well of c--what?" Sharpay froze, looking confused.
"You're amazing the way you are, Sharpay. You don't need to make yourself ill. I'm really sorry if I upset you, I don't mean to." Gabriella's eyes were filled with tears, and Sharpay slowly realised this wasn't the speech of someone who'd lost. This was practically an intervention.
"You don't know anything, Montez." Sharpay shoved her hard, trying to push her off the stage. "You don't know anything about ME!"
"…Ryan told me. But I already knew, I could tell. I haven't said anything to anyone…" Sharpay shoved her again, but Gabriella moved out the way before she could.
"RYANS A LIAR!" Screamed Sharpay. Gabriella tried to remain calm.
"…Troy chose me. I didn't force him to. I've never meant to hurt you. I don't want you losing all this weight because of me…There's no competition between us."
"Well it doesn't matter anyway, does it." Sharpay grinned suddenly. "I got the part, and you didn't. Troy got the part. And remember, there's a kiss scene. It'll be me his kissing, not you." Gabriella was silent for a long time, and Sharpay assumed she was taking this fact in.
"…I'm doing the lead role." She said, eventually. "Ryan…Ryan's worried that you'll get too ill that you won't be able to do it. So….he asked me to do it."
"No. No, no, no! You can't take this from me!" Sharpay stuttered, her body shaking with anger, as she desperately tried to hold back tears. "Darbus cast me, not you! This isn't Ryan's decision!"
"He went to speak to her." Said Gabriella, quietly. "Sharpay, he's worried about you."
"I HATE YOU!" Sharpay shoved Gabriella again, trying to hurt her, but not having the strength to. "I wish you NEVER came here, Gabriella! You stole EVERYTHING from me, and you're so NICE TO EVERYONE YOU CAN'T SEE HOW YOU'RE KILLING ME!"
At this point, Ryan thought it was best to intervene. Rushing down to the stage, he wrapped his arms around Sharpay's waist, and pulled her away from Gabriella. Kelsi looked torn between the two, and Gabriella looked upset about everything Sharpay was saying, and doing. Sharpay tried to slap his hands away, but he couldn't.
"I'm taking you home." He said, his voice shaking scared. "I'm going to tell mum and dad, and we're going to put you in that in-patients clinic."
"Leave me alone." She sobbed, still fighting against his arms. "It's my play--" She sobbed pathetically, but Ryan forced himself to block it out.
"If you won't listen to the doctor, if you're going to treat me and our parents like idiots, if you're going to be so horrible to Gabriella, then this is the only thing that'll help you." He said. Sharpay continued to struggle, but Ryan simply took her out to the car, and rushed her home as quickly as possible.
After locking Sharpay in his room, Ryan told his parents what had been going on, and arrangements to have Sharpay admitted to the clinic were quickly put in place. Ryan knew that in the long run Sharpay would understand, and he hoped would eventually get over Troy, and apologise to Gabriella. Going up to his room to collect Sharpay, she slapped him the second she saw him.
"Do you hate me?!" She snapped.
"No, I don't." He said calmly. "I don't want you to die."
"Stop SAYING THAT!" She pushed him hard onto the floor. "You're a no-one Ryan! You'd be nothing without me! You don't give a damn about me, otherwise you would've left me to get with Troy, and be in my show! You care more about getting Gabriella MY ROLE than you care about me!"
"That's not true! You heard what the doctor said!"
"The doctor doesn't know anything! You don't know anything!" Ryan sighed, and went to hold onto Sharpay.
"That's not true, Shar--"
"I WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN!" She screamed. The pair of them fell silent, Sharpay trying to understand why she had just said that, and Ryan out of shock. He eventually spoke up, hate burning in his eyes.
"If I hadn't been born, you think you'd be alive right now? I was the one who saw what was going on with you way before anyone else did, and I did what any sane person would've done, and tried my best to help you. I sit up at night crying because I can hear you crying in your room! Or I don't get any sleep because every time I close my eyes, I have nightmares of being at your funeral! Of seeing you dying! You think I see that in my sleep because I want it to happen?! I see it because it is my biggest fear!" He opened his bedroom door. "But if you wanna be an only child, Sharpay, then congratulations, you've got your wish. I don't want anything more to do with you. You're a horrible, manipulative piece of work. And don't you think I will ever come and visit you in that place. As far as I'm concerned now, I don't have a sister." Sharpay looked at him, hurt in her eyes. "No. Just get out. I'm done with being afraid of what you'll say, and how you'll act." Sharpay went to speak, but was silenced by another glare from Ryan. Sighing, she went downstairs, where her parents were putting some of her belongings in the car, ready to take her to the clinic. As the car pulled away, she looked up at Ryan's bedroom window. Before she could read the expression on his face, Ryan closed the curtain.
As the car disappeared down the road, Ryan couldn't help but cry.
AN: Okay, so I have a rough idea of the next and last chapters, but if you have anything you want to happen, let me know, and I'll see if it can be worked in :).
