DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own High School Musical or any of its components.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: :tap tap: Is this thing on? OMG, hey! Wow.. it has been forever. So long that I'm probably the only one still hanging on to this story. When the school year ends, as does my unlimited dorm room internet, and thus I have been stranded for an eternity with no time to write, and then no means to update. But here I am -- updating! If you're still reading, I love you. As usual, many apologies for taking so long. Please review and let me know if it was worth the wait!
Kelsi felt a surge of heat in her chest, and as Ryan would say, "and not in a good way." She glanced down the neck of her blouse and noticed the nervous-inspired hives beginning to warm her skin. She kept her left hand and fingers adjoined with Sharpay's right hand, but kept her head facing out the window to hide the fear etched all over her face.
As surely as time will only drag when you don't want it to, the girls seemed to reach the Evans house quicker than practically possible, and Kelsi honestly feared for a moment that she might be ill. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see that Sharpay, too, was pausing to get her bearings, and once the blonde unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door, Kelsi knew it was the moment of truth.
She put aside her own feelings of panic to admire the bravery of the girl in front of her. Everything Sharpay had -- her possessions, her money, her notoriety -- was because of her family, her support system, and all of that was about to be compromised. While a part of Kelsi was convinced that all gay and bi teens had to go through something of the sort, she wasn't slow to realize that Sharpay perhaps had more at stake than most.
As they approached the doorstep, Kelsi wasn't really sure what she was expected to do. Was she supposed to say something? Do something? Stand there? Faint? She figured the best thing to do was follow Sharpay's lead, although there was a chance that she didn't have much more of a clue as to what was about to unfold.
With one hand on the doorknob, Sharpay took her free hand and gave one of Kelsi's hands a tight squeeze before turning the key and walking into the house.
"Mother! Daddy!" Sharpay called out from the lobby, her voice seeming to resonate throughout the giant house.
Within seconds, Mr. and Mrs. Evans appeared from their respective rooms. Mr. Evans, who had been engrossed in his office, stepped forward.
"Princess! What are you doing here?" he inquired, glancing at the clock to confirm that school wasn't out yet.
Kelsi, who was pale and lightheaded, couldn't imagine what was running through the actress' mind as she took a deep breath. "I'm here because I have to talk to you both," Sharpay exhaled.
"Where's your brother? Is he all right?" Mrs. Evans asked nervously.
"He's fine. Besides this isn't about him, this is about us, talking," Sharpay replied, appearing calm, but serious.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans looked simply baffled by the entire situation: the time, the urgency, the occurrence in itself. It became clear to Kelsi that while she and her dad told each other practically everything, Sharpay and Ryan weren't expected to converse with their parents unless it was in their best interest.
"Darling, what could possibly be urgent enough for you to leave school over?" Mrs. Evans asked.
"This is," Sharpay asserted. "And I have a free period anyway."
Still unsure of Sharpay's reasoning, Mr. and Mrs. Evans stepped into the living room and took a seat. "Well, if you're waiting for our attention, you have it," Mr. Evans said, patting a seat on the couch which Sharpay, and in turn Kelsi, neglected to take.
Sharpay's deep mahogany eyes were darting back and forth frantically as she stared at the ground, desperately trying to find a jumping off point that would make this easier. With scripts, she could learn, prepare, and blow everyone away with the performance of a lifetime, but with unrehearsed speech, she retracted like a scolded puppy, terrified and cornered.
"Well - uh - you know how I started dating Zeke a little while back -"
"Oh, Sweetheart, did he break up with you?" Mrs. Evans interrupted.
"No, he didn't -"
"You know he'll be the biggest fool in Albuquerque if he lets you go, Princess," Mr. Evans cut in.
"Zeke didn't break up with me!" Sharpay insisted.
"Then what's the problem?" asked Mr. Evans, not following.
"I am! I mean - nothing! It's not a problem, but I'm the one breaking up with him," Sharpay hastily interjected.
Watching them converse back and forth was like watching a tennis match. Kelsi hated tennis.
"Why are you breaking up with him?" Mrs. Evans asked.
"Did he do something to you?" Mr. Evans interrogated.
"Is it because he wears an apron?" Mrs. Evans questioned.
"YOU KNOW WHY!" Sharpay shouted, halting the room to silence.
"Sharpay, we don't know what you're talking about," Mrs. Evans said, appearing not quite honest.
"Mom -" Sharpay cut in.
"Your mother's right. We already said everything we needed to say; the discussion is closed," Mr. Evans added.
"You can't just -"
"And what is Ryan's friend doing here? This isn't her affair!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed.
"Her name is Kelsi, and she's my -"
As if the subject being changed to her didn't already freak Kelsi out, she almost had a heart attack when Mr. Evans stood from the couch and walked toward her. "Young lady, I'm not sure what our daughter has told you, but our family matters are not your business, and we'll know where to look if this gets out!" he nearly yelled.
"Don't talk to her like that!" Sharpay protested.
"Young lady, do not defend this girl before your own family! We are the ones who matter here," Mrs. Evans imposed.
"When are you both going to realize that this is not about you? This is about me! This is about me, and being happy, and my life!" Sharpay pleaded.
"Let's get one thing straight; you don't have a life unless we see it fit! Your mother and I have worked our whole lives to see to it that you and your brother even have a shot at happiness, so I don't want to hear it!" Mr. Evans shouted.
Running out of words and options, the escalation of heartbeats and gasps of petrified air could be heard from both girls when Sharpay grabbed the back of Kelsi's neck and lower back and pulled their bodies together in an impulsive kiss. Kelsi instinctively brought her hand up to Sharpay's shoulder facing her parents and squinted, positive that one or both of them was going to be hit. Sure enough, the shocked silence of Mr. and Mrs. Evans lasted for no longer than 5 seconds before Mrs. Evans hands grasped Sharpay's shoulders and pulled the couple apart.
"Stop this nonsense this instant!" Mrs. Evans cried out, her voice near shrill.
Sharpay shook herself from her mother's hold and faced both of her parents with a smile that startled Kelsi.
"No, Mom, look at me! Really, Mom, Dad, just look at me! Do you see this? It's a smile! I'm smiling because I'm happy -- because Kelsi makes me happy! Because finding someone and something where I can be myself and have someone love and understand me has made me happier than I've been in a long time, and that should be all that matters!" Sharpay retorted.
"Oh, so this is you're doing?" Mr. Evans once again directed at Kelsi.
"NO! My God, don't you listen?" Sharpay asked.
"Don't take that tone with your father!" Mrs. Evans scolded.
"Then listen to me, both of you! This isn't about you, this isn't about Kelsi, this isn't about Ryan, this is about me. This is about who I am," Sharpay repeated.
"Now you listen to me," Mr. Evans deadpanned, "You don't live any life unless we see it fit, and we don't see this fit. I will not have my daughter ruining her future on some schoolgirl experiment -"
"That's not -" Sharpay began.
"Not another word!" he barked. "You're a 17-year-old child who lives under our roof and our supervision, and as long as that's the case, you will play by our rules. All 4 of us have already discussed your options, which we can remind you of if you've forgotten. When you're an adult, it's up to you whether you want to lose everything or not. Are we clear?
Sharpay wordlessly expressed her temporary forfeit as she stepped backward from the gaze and immediate proximity of her parents. Kelsi felt Sharpay's grip on her wrist, which was more than enough of a clue that it was time to go. Time seemed to soar from the house, to the car, to peeling the corner of the Evans' street.
The two had barely traveled out of sight of the house when Sharpay unexpectedly cut the wheel hard to the right, threw the car in park, and didn't bother with the door when she jumped through what would be the window if the convertible top was up, and from Kelsi's point of view, disappeared behind the car. Almost immediately, the horrendous retching sound began and Kelsi quickly darted over to the ground beside the driver's seat where Sharpay was knelt down.
The brunette grasped Sharpay's blonde locks into a ponytail away from her face and rubbed her back in a desperate attempt to comfort her. Kelsi murmured hushed condolences as she waited for the other girl to rid her system of the evil she had been swallowing and consuming her whole 17 years.
Minutes later, the actress softly asked Kelsi to hand her a tissue from the glove compartment, and she waited to clean her mouth before turning to face the smaller girl.
"All right, we need to get heading back to school," Sharpay said, standing up and reaching for the car door handle.
Kelsi stopped her beautiful disaster's hand with her own. "Sweetie, you shouldn't drive like this. Let me." As the words escaped, Kelsi was surprised with herself. She was fairly certain she had never used the word "sweetie" in her life, nor would ordinarily offer to drive a car that was most likely worth more than her own existence, but she was used to surprises when it came to Sharpay.
"Okay," Sharpay breathlessly agreed, "But we have to go kind of fast, we have barely 15 minutes."
"Sharpay, if you don't want to go back to school, I'm sure it won't be the end of the world. I mean, your parents already know that you left and I know my dad would understand," Kelsi said, holding Sharpay in place.
"It's okay. I have a pre-calc test that I won't be able to make up," Sharpay said, barely looking Kelsi in the eye.
"I'm sure you could explain what happened and get another chance. We could go to my house," Kelsi tried.
"After school, we will," Sharpay insisted. "Right now I just wanna go finish the day. I need to talk to Ryan anyway."
If there was one thing the composer had learned about her singer, it was that arguing with her became useless after a certain point.
Kelsi silently agreed, and Sharpay's eyes met hers with a small, but seemingly sincere grin. The shorter girl leaned up to get closer to the blonde, but Sharpay pressed her hand to Kelsi's chest.
"No, no, my mouth is all gross, you don't want to kiss me," Sharpay blushed.
No "grossness" in the world could stop Kelsi from placing a soft, simple, and love-infused kiss on Sharpay's lips. When the kiss broke, Kelsi spoke the words she had been waiting to say since they left the Evans' house. "I am so proud of you."
Sharpay, desperately trying to keep her eyes from misting, simply said, "Come on. We're going to be late" before climbing back into the car. Kelsi knew that she would have thanked her if she could.
Thanks to Kelsi's lead foot on an actually functioning gas pedal, the girls made it to school in record time, driving behind the school to sneak back in the South Door that they had left through. They soon ran into a slight problem, however.
"Locked?!" Sharpay exclaimed as she furiously pulled at the gold handle. "Fuck!"
"We're just going to have to go into the front door," Kelsi sighed.
"Well, we'll say that we ate lunch outside," Sharpay said.
"But only seniors can do that," Kelsi protested.
"Well, everyone knows that I normally don't give a damn about school policy. Hello, who else paints their locker pink?" Sharpay asked, causing herself and Kelsi to both laugh for the first time in a long time. Even so, both of them were silently convinced that this wasn't going to work.
The duo tried to look inconspicuous as they entered through the front doors, but quickly had a bad feeling when they were waved into the office by Principal Matsui's secretary. They were hoping to sneak by as the office lobby was busied with faculty checking their mailboxes and leaving the lounge after lunch, but no such luck.
Kelsi turned an even whiter shade of pale when Ms. Darbus was checking her mail directly beside the secretary, eyeing she and Sharpay periodically.
"Ah, Miss Evans, I thought that was your blindingly pink car driving into the parking lot a few minutes ago," exhaled the secretary, not appearing too impressed in the least.
Well, there went the lunch excuse. Kelsi looked to Sharpay as she fumbled for a new reason, when a familiar voice piped up.
"Oh, that's what I had forgotten to tell you. I gave Kelsi and Sharpay permission to retrieve some sheet music for our talent show rehearsals. As you know, the theater requires prompt and meticulous preparation," said Ms. Darbus, putting on what could truly be called the performance of a lifetime.
The secretary's face relaxed as she had no reason to not believe Ms. Darbus, even if it seemed a little odd. "Oh, I see. Well, yes, next time make sure you let me know, okay?"
"I am terribly sorry, it just slipped my mind. And next time I'll have the girls stop by the office on their way out," Darbus continued.
The secretary's smile implied that they had gotten away with their excuse, and before another word was said, Ms. Darbus was out the door and starting down the hallway.
Kelsi and Sharpay exchanged glances, and Kelsi's mouth formed a smile that could not be slapped off of her face. Judging by Sharpay's expression, as well, both girls had just gotten unexpected and much needed hope from the last place they expected to find it.