Home is Where the Heart Lives

Chapter XI

He kissed every part of her fervently eliciting loud moans of ecstasy as she writhed with pleasure beneath him, clutching the back of his head and guiding him to all the right spots. It had been a long time and her own little chain of boyfriends could never match her ex-husband's expertise in bed.

Clothes flew around the tent since their body heat wasn't able to handle anymore heat giving materials, or covering for that matter and it had to be discarded. A bra flew to the side along with a pair of boxers. Then a thong went flying out of the tent…

"Did it land on the bonfire?" he thought.

"Will a bear touch it?" she thought simultaneously.

Troy had a way of making Sharpay go over the edge – she could just roll her eyes in the back of her head and die right there with all the things this man did to her. He was never tired and he was never selfish and right now he was sucking her southward and she could just feel herself burn in perpetual ecstasy.

But of course, she had her own little ways too – and he knew that she was just itching to have a go at him. After sucking her dry, he was suddenly pinned on his back on the sleeping bag and she was twirling a coil of yellow nylon rope in her dainty fingers, a glint in her lust-filled burning. With a swiftness and strength he never knew she possessed, she had his hands tied over his head and was making him insane wherever she planted her lips, her hands and her tongue.

After the long torture – she made sure the rope was tied tightly – he managed to escape his bonds and flip them over once again.

The tent rocked and their moans and their groans were amplified by the silence that surrounded the place and they briefly wondered if anyone could hear them…

~***~

Sharpay fluttered her eyes and looked at her surroundings. She looked up at the nylon taffeta blue ceiling and blinked a few times. Trying to sit up, she felt quite sore and had to cease any more attempts fearing cramps. Satisfying herself with looking left and right while lying down, she tried to stifle a scream as she saw Troy sleeping next to her, his handsome, nearly middle-aged face millimeters from her own.

Suddenly a light breeze made her quite shiver and then she realized that she was naked. Her clothes were strewn all over the tent and the sudden shock gave her the energy to sit up. She spotted her thong near the bonfire and was thankful no animal dare went near it. Her breath became quick as she put two and two together. Troy and her made love – no, had sex! But they weren't drunk, nor were they stoned, they were simply looking at the stars and Troy kissed her. Yeah, she thought, it's all Troy's fault…though I must say, I don't regret anything. She was confused, knowing it was never supposed to happen.

Troy was awake but wasn't opening his eyes. He could vividly remember what happened last night and judging by Sharpay's immediate reaction upon waking up, he was going to be blamed. He could feel her scurrying for her clothes and putting them on. Sooner or later she was going to "wake" him and maybe avoid him as they trudge on to their destination.

Sure enough, he felt her tentative clammy hand shake him almost as if hesitant or disgusted. He looked at her and can feel coldness sweeping through him as she gave him her famous icy glare. Getting up, he busied himself with fixing the tent and all their belongings as she watched, sitting on a log.

"Are you hungry?" he asked and she shook her head not looking at him. Troy sighed quietly.

"Well, I am, I'm going to go look for food, ok?" he asked her tentatively and she nodded.

Going back to their camp with a couple of eggs, Troy became busy frying them on small pan he brought. He offered her a plate and contrary to what she answered earlier, Sharpay wolfed down the meager breakfast as Troy tried to eat his without laughing.

"My, someone's hungry," he tried to joke but received a glare and decided to keep quiet.

"We have a long walk ahead of us and maybe we'll get there by late afternoon. Are you up for that?" he asked her but she merely shrugged her response.

"Pay," he said sternly, "I know what happened last night ok, and I understand that you're not comfortable in my presence or me in yours but we gotta work together to reach Ryan and the kids," he told her and she glared at him.

"Fine Troy, I'll be civil with you until we get to that confounded area and be done with it!" she snapped.

"Then I suggest we get going then." Troy had finally had enough of her.

~***~

They walked again for miles in complete silence, not stopping for any water breaks except when one has a nature call. Troy wanted to talk to her but Sharpay put on her Ice Queen persona and he couldn't budge her. Finally stopping for a water break, he took his chances and brought up the dreaded topic.

"Pay, didn't last night mean anything to you?" he asked clearly though his heart was hammering and his throat felt dry.

"What happened last night, Bolton?" she snarled while feigning innocence. He frowned, she was trying to forget it already.

"We made love?" he bantered and she rolled her eyes.

"We had sex." Sharpay corrected him and Troy's frown became a scowl.

"There's a difference between the two," he pointed out and she laughed hollowly.

"Don't I know it!" she barked, "Well duh! Sex is just me and a guy having fun."

"Yeah well I'm not just some guy and we didn't just have fun as you so bluntly put it," he was beyond hurt. She was trying to forget it, and then pass it off as a one night stand.

"What Troy? You're not my husband or my lover that I could say that we made love as you would like to think we did."

"But we weren't drunk or anything! We were sober and thinking clearly. Doesn't that mean anything to you?! I mean I was there and you were there and you didn't seem to regret last night." Troy tried to put some sense to her.

"Did it ever occur to you, Troy, that I'm an actress?" she said simply and he bristled.

"Sharpay, you were practically writhing with pleasure underneath me and unless you're some porn star, suffice to say you enjoyed last night. Face it Pay, you also had the choice to say 'no'…" he said indignantly and it was her turn to bristle.

"First off, I am not a porn star! I'm a Broadway actress Troy Bolton – and a very good one at that! Second, we had sex last night! It was 'in the heat of the moment' thing and I would appreciate it if you don't bring it up and it won't happen again. Lastly, it did not mean anything Bolton so just deal with it!" she yelled, utterly angry and Troy just looked at her, hurt plastered on his face. His dream, his children's dreams, everyone's dreams of them ever getting back together was going down the drain.

Troy looked away from Sharpay and tried his best not to let the tears threatening to fall escape his eyes in her presence. He muttered something about having to pee and walked off to a huge tree and tried his best to steady his frayed nerves. Sharpay can cut any man's heart better than any katana and he could feel the tatters of his heart as she told him that last night didn't mean anything. But why – she seemed to enjoy it and give it all she had when they were doing it…

Sharpay knew that Troy probably hated her right now; she could hear him sobbing even if he was quite far from her. She was angry at herself, why does her pride always stand in the way when she wanted to confess her deepest desire to also be with him? But she can't – for a reason she also didn't know. She felt that she was being stupid (A/N: duh? But of course, I don't think she's stupid… mainly: arrogant) and that she should come clean. Deciding that it was her moment, she took in a deep breath and got ready to approach Troy.

Before she could even take a step further though, she heard a low growl behind her. Sharpay spun and looked for the cause of the menacing noise. Hearing twigs snap her heart rate beat faster and she was filled with dread. There in front of her was a huge black bear, its teeth were bared and it looked really mad. She took a step back as the huge animal took a huge menacing step forward. Suddenly it lumbered towards her, its huge mouth now open and she could count the teeth that was about to sink into her flesh. Fear overtook her and she screamed trying to shield her face with her arms as she crouched. The bear raised a huge paw above its head, claws at a ready…

Troy was letting it all out behind his tree, quite far from Sharpay when he heard a bit of rustle. He looked up and heard the growl – in a flash he was running and what he saw almost made him freeze and stay frozen. A huge black bear was towering over his ex-wife, its paw raised ready to strike her face off. He lunged for the pistol his daughter provided him and released the safety pin, cocking the gun and he shot point-blank.

The bear let out a terrible roar as one of its arms was hit and he got down and started towards Troy. He aimed it between the eyes of the advancing bear and pulled the trigger. The freaking pistol was jammed and he cursed a thousand profanities in a matter of milliseconds. Lunging towards the fuming man, the bear managed to pin down Troy and again it raised its (now shot) arm, paw at a ready and swiped.

Raising his arm as protection, the bear managed three deep cuts on Troy's arm and one that ran from the corner of his left eye to his cheek. Blood oozed from the lacerations and Troy groaned in pain. The weight of the bear and the pain of his cuts made him quite weak. The freaking bear was heavy and it took all his strength to throw it off him.

The bear fell on its side with a groan/growl and Troy managed to get up although he was clutching his heart as he made his way to Sharpay who seemed to have fainted. He tried to get her to wake up and she was fluttering her eyes just as the bear really went mad and lumbered towards them. Troy knew the pistol effort was futile and so carried Sharpay near his backpack with the bear hot on his heels.

He managed to lay her down safely and grab his hunting knife and thrust it to the hilt inside the bears wide open mouth. The tip of the knife protruded from it head and for a second, Troy felt like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (A/N: imagine Zac Efron with the glasses and a lightning scar on his forehead, isn't it hilarious? He'll look really weird…). The bear gave one a long low groan and halfheartedly fought back but gave up its last valiant act after its fruitless results and slumped on the ground. Troy, feeling heroic, gave a triumphant look at the bear and cried, "That's for trying to kill the fair maiden I left in this clearing to pee!"

By now Sharpay was fully awake and tried to stifle a laugh at what Troy said. It seemed unfitting for the situation. He glanced at her after the bear was really dead and her heart constricted after she saw the pained look in his eyes. Managing a goofy grin, he asked her if she was alright and she nodded.

Troy abruptly turned away from her, grabbed their backpacks and started walking. Sharpay was concerned with the state of his wounds but then he was already far ahead and by the time she reached him, she was too out of breath to even say anything. The blood had been wiped off as he walked and she could see the pink scar that would forever grace his face – the scar he earned to save her.

~***~

The two were nearly at the end of their journey and Sharpay was still trying to muster enough confidence to break the deafening silence between them. Before she had a chance to speak though, they arrived at the clearing and she was swept into her brother's arms. Jacob also hugged her and they went chattering away and got busy with putting up the tent and so on.

Savannah was patiently waiting for her father with her brother and uncle when she saw them up ahead. They made it, she thought happily and then saw her mother being hugged. When she turned to her father, his appearance shocked her to the core. There was a scar from the corner of his left eye to his cheek, bruises and cuts lined his knees where the bear swiped him and there were lacerations on his arms, deep ones.

She remembered the night he saved her, he looked much worse and the trauma overtook her. Screaming she flung herself to him sobbing and shaking as he clutched her and tried to soothe her. Ryan and Jacob stared at him wide-eyed while Sharpay looked down on the ground. Savannah was near hysterical and wouldn't let go of Troy.

"Daddy…Daddy…" she whimpered as Troy held her close and told her he was alright. After a good ten minutes she let go of him and asked what happened. He related the story of the bear leaving the three gaping at him.

Ryan however, noticed something amiss when Sharpay didn't react much. In a situation like this, she would have probably been all over her hero but she sat meekly in the corner and seemed like a recluse. The group decided to spend another night and Sharpay decided to stay with Troy for her daughter.

That night, with his wounds cleaned and bandaged, Troy lay on his sleeping bag and watched as Sharpay slept beside him. She looked so peaceful, so serene – her blonde hair framed her beautiful face like a halo and the way she breathed in and out in a rhythmic pattern made Troy's heart flutter and break at the same time. With sleep finally overcoming him, he heard her whisper, "I lied – last night did mean something to me…"

~***~

Troy awoke with a jolt. He could still remember what Sharpay said, that last night meant something to her! Glancing at his wristwatch, he noticed that it was still evening and that he just slept for a few minutes before the entirety of her statement sunk in.

Looking over at her, he saw that Sharpay was nowhere in the tent so he grabbed a jacket and went out. Sure enough, she was sitting on one of the logs, the dying flames of the bonfire illuminating her beautiful face. He sat down beside her holding her hand.

"Did you mean what you said?" he whispered. Sharpay decided to play coy.

"What did I say?" she whispered innocently and immediately regretted it when Troy heaved a sad sigh and pulled his hand away. She tightened her grip and he looked at her.

"I… I did," she said in a trembling voice and Troy stared at her, mesmerized, his blue eyes becoming foggy.

"You did?" his voice was hoarse and Sharpay nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Troy, I want you," she began in a terrified whisper, "I want to be with you – I realize now, how blind I've been! You wanted so much to make it up to me and I gave you hell then threw you out… we were young and I was foolish! You don't deserve that! You don't deserve me…" she sobbed and traced his scar. Wincing a bit, he knelt in front of her and hugged the second crying female in his arms that day.

His heart was flying and if humans could really fly they'll be in outer space by now. She was still in love with him, after 14 years! He couldn't really utter anything as of the moment so he just kissed her. Sharpay kissed him back through her tears and a smile on her face.

Ryan, Savannah and Jacob were watching Troy and Sharpay make out by the bonfire. Ryan wanted to gag at the sight but opted to just go back to sleep. Savannah was doing some kind of happy dance and Jacob looked really happy. Dreams do come true, he thought…

~***~

No one said a word the next day as they packed up everything and put it all in the Range Rover. The smiles on everyone's faces were enough to communicate to the world that something amazing happened. Climbing into the vehicle, they all took one last look at the forest before Ryan revved the engine and started to drive away.

Sharpay leaned on Troy's chest as he held her hand and Savannah lay her head on his shoulder as he put his other arm around her. Jacob rode shotgun and was secretly smiling the whole way home.

It's so hard to speculate if they'll really have a happy ending at this point don't you think? What if the author was sooo devious she'll twist the entire plot? Or maybe she'll kill off one of the characters insert gasp here? Oor.. she could write a totally happy ending? IDK..

Anyway, take time to review! :)