Happy Saturday everyone! I'm back with another chapter for you guys. I'm drawing a blank about what to say so I'll just let you guys read the chapter.

Quick thanks to xdontforget for reviewing the last chapter.

Chapter 9

The following day had been hard for Sharpay; she had hoped that Chad would come home so they could talk, but when she had gone into the house after class, she had found his stuff missing from the living room. She had run upstairs and had found his bedroom door open. She had held her breath, hoping he had just put his stuff away, but she had found the room empty except for the furniture that had belonged to her parents. She had thrown herself on his bed as a fresh wave of tears had hit her. She had laid there for hours, her tears seeping into the bare mattress below her.

As the afternoon turned to evening, she had started to get cold and had gone to her room for a blanket. While search in her closet for a blanket, she had found a red sweatshirt that she had known had been the Wildcats sweatshirt she had borrowed from Chad while he had been in California. Pulling it to her face, she had breathed in the mixed scent of his soap and cologne. She had pulled it over her head then had grabbed the blanket before going back to his room.

Staring up at the ceiling, she had wanted it all to be a bad dream. She had wanted to go back to last year, before Troy had come and complicated things. She had wanted to wake up with Chad's arms wrapped around her and for him to tell her that he loved her and then for her to tell him that she loved him too.

"Oh my god," she had said as she realized what she had just wished. Her mind had gone back to the jealousy she had experienced when Gabriella and Chad had hugged and then the guilt she had experienced after every time she had been with Troy. Then she had recalled a thousand or more little memories she had of her and Chad, leaving her to wonder: how long had she been lying to herself about not being in love with Chad?

When the sun had risen the next morning and Sharpay had found herself alone in the lifeless bedroom and had been forced to admit that she hadn't been having a bad dream. She had forced herself up and, even though her eyes had been red and puffy, she had gotten ready for school. She had tried desperately to not think about Chad, but every little thing had: the lace bra from that night, the sixth man shirt she had bought a one of his games; the fact that his tooth was missing from the bathroom; the can of "tofu" in the fridge. It had all made her want to start crying, but she had forced herself to keep it together.

She had been late to class that morning, but hadn't minded since it had meant she hadn't had to sit or talk to Troy. Sitting at the back of the classroom had also given her the advantage of having been able to leave before Troy.

After that class, she had successfully avoided Troy for a couple days, but then had run into him outside one of her classes they hadn't had together.

"You've been avoiding me," he had accused, cornering her against the side of the building.

"Can't talk, gotta -" she had stopped when he had grabbed her arm tightly. "Let go of me, Troy."

"Not until you tell me what's going on," he had said gruffly, squeezing her arm tighter. "You're avoiding me. Chad's phone is either broken or he's avoiding me to, too."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she had struggled to yank her arm from his grasp.

"Don't lie to me," Troy had hissed.

She had verbally dismissed that she was lying to him and had used the arrival of a professor to make her escape. She had all but run to the theater building and had hid out there until rehearsal had started. She had used the two hour gap to try and relax since the director had been on her case about her weak rehearsals of late, but her mind had kept wandering to Chad and how he was doing.

When rehearsal had started, she hadn't felt ready, but she had faked it. She hadn't been sure if the others could tell she had been faking or not. Either way, she had expected the director to call her over afterwards, but she hadn't.

Not looking forward to being alone, Sharpay had called and left a message on Leah's phone, inviting her over to watch movies. After hanging up she had accepted a ride from a cast mate, thankful to not have to worry about Troy ambushing her as she walked home.

After thanking her friend for the ride, Sharpay had gotten out of the car and had walked up the driveway and had gone into the house. Wanting to be more comfortable, she had gone upstairs and had changed into the other clothes of Chad's that she had borrowed while they had lived together.

Hearing the doorbell ring, she had gone downstairs dressed in Chad's Wildcat sweatshirt, Redhawk sweatpants and a pair of tube socks with her hair pulled back in a messy bun, not caring how she looked since she had only been expecting Leah.

But instead of finding Leah, she had found Troy and she had tried to close the door but he had stopped her.

"You look like crap," he had stated. "Who died?"

"You I wish," she had muttered under her breath. "Go away, Troy, I have nothing to say to you."

"Well, I'm not here to see you, I'm here to see Chad," Troy had sassed as he had pushed passed her and into the townhouse. "Where is he?"

"Chad isn't here," Sharpay had said, fighting to keep her emotions in check. She had wanted him to leave, it had been his fault everything had happened.

"Alright, I can wait," Troy had shrugged as he had settled onto the couch,. "Did you guys do something different in here?"

"Yeah, Chad took his stuff and moved out," Sharpay had snapped, not moving away from the open door. "So you can leave."

"Wait, what?" Troy had asked. "Why the hell did he move out?"

"Because he found out about us."

"You told him!?" Troy had exclaimed, jumping up from the couch and stalking over to her. "Why the hell did you do that?!"

"I didn't tell him anything," she had said. After the way he had grabbed her arm on campus, she had been afraid of what he might do when they were alone, but she had still felt the need to defend herself.. "He found the hickie you left and figured it out."

"Perfect. Just perfect," Troy had thrown his hands in the air. "Do you realize what you've ruined?"

"Excuse me?!" She couldn't believe he had tried to push it off as being all her fault. Besides, hadn't he had a clue about what he had ruined?

"Chad and I have been best friends since pre-school and thanks to you, that's most likely over."

"You hit on me!" She had exclaimed. "You kissed me! You pressured me into having sex with you! And you're the one that left the hickie!"

"That's another thing you've ruined," Troy had stated. "Thanks. Thanks a lot. Now what the hell am I supposed to tell Gabriella?"

In the seconds after he had mentioned Gabriella's name, things had become clear to Sharpay. "You used me," her voiced had been a whisper but then had gotten louder as she had gotten madder. "You used me for your pleasure because Gabriella isn't around!"

"I didn't hear you complaining," he had stated, which had earned him a slap across the face that had only made him madder and he had grabbed her arm in the same spot he had earlier in the day. "You know what, Chad and I will be friends again, I guarantee it, but you, he'll never talk to you again."

"I think it's time for you to leave," Sharpay had heard Leah's usually timid voice ring out loud and clear from behind her.

"Gladly," Troy had said, giving Sharpay one final glare before he had pushed past Leah on his way out the door.

"Are you ok?" Leah had asked, wrapping her arms around Sharpay. "I know how much you liked Troy."

"I don't give a shit about him," Sharpay had said as tears rolled down her face. "Because even though I want to be mad at him, I can't because it's my fault that I let him use me and it's my fault that I didn't realize I'm in love with Chad until it was too late."

"That's great that you figured it out," Leah had smiled. "I'm happy for you."

"No," Sharpay had pulled out of Leah's embrace. "It's not great because I've already lost him. Troy's right, Chad will never speak to me again."

"Don't say that," Leah had insisted. "Chad just needs time to think things through and he'll realize soon that he needs you as much as you need him."

"Thank you for coming over, but I just want to be alone right now," Sharpay had told her.

"I can't do that, Sharpay, I can't leave you alone," Leah had replied. "I wouldn't be a good best friend if I did, but I'll hang out down here and watch TV and be here when you're ready to talk."

Sharpay had nodded and had gone upstairs to Chad's room. She had climbed onto his bed and had pulled the hood of his sweat shirt over her head. She had breathed in the scent of fabric and had cried when she had realized his scent had disappeared.

The remainder of the second semester had gone slowly for Sharpay even though Leah had attempted to keep her busy. When she hadn't been at rehearsals for the spring musical, she had been hanging out at Leah and Grady's apartment helping with wedding stuff.

After her falling out with both Chad and Troy, Sharpay hadn't been sure how Grady would act around her, but she hadn't expected him to give her a big hug the first time he had seen her after it all. As had Troy and Chad's moms when she'd seen them at one of Leah's wedding showers; the hug from Chad's mom had been a little longer, as if to say everything would work out.

Sharpay had admired the faith that Chad's mom and Leah had had about her and Chad working things out, but she had known it was worthless. She had tried numerous times to talk to Chad and he had ignored her. Their relationship was over before it had truly begun and after Leah and Grady's wedding, she'd probably never see Chad or Troy again, except for high school reunions, if she even went.

A couple weeks after her falling out with Chad, Sharpay had given Leah permission to replace her in the wedding party with the excuse that Chad and Troy were going to be part of Leah's family and it would make the wedding that less awkward, but Leah had declared it nonsense and said that if Sharpay wasn't her maid-of-honor, she'd have to ask her hussy-of-a-cousin Natalie to be a bridesmaid. The only thing that had made the situation a little less awkward was that it was Grady's older brother Brycen who would be the bestman, with Troy being the other groomsman and Chad an usher.

Find out next week to find out if Grady and Leah's wedding will help or hurt Chad and Sharpay.