Chapter Ten

October 10 (CONTINUED)

"Come on, Pay…pick up." Troy muttered to himself as the phone rang. He had been trying to call Sharpay a million times, but she never answered. The phone continued to beep, until he heard the familiar voice recite the annoyingly familiar lines.

"Hey, it's Sharpay! Sorry I missed you, but leave a message at the beep and I'll get back to you! Thanks!"

"Hey, Sharpay, it's Troy…again. Look, can you call me back? Please? The gang's looking everywhere for you, but I wanna talk to you alone. I wanna know if you ran off because of Gabriella, because if you did I want you to know that I don't-" the dial cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

"-Like her." He sighed. He clicked the end button on his phone and let out another deep sigh. He was sitting in an old treehouse that didn't look like it could hold a bunch of teenagers. But this treehouse wasn't meant for him and his friends. It was meant for only Sharpay and him. Their fathers had built it just for them when they were eight. Troy always thought it was their secret hideaway, so whenever he was in a mood and just wanted to be with Sharpay, they had a spot to call their own. He felt guilty not telling his other friends about it, but he believed that some things should just stay secret.

He looked around the walls of the wooden clubhouse, which were covered with photos and drawings the two pals had collected over the years. He chuckled with each old memory, remembering how he always found a way to smile in here. He reached one picture that stopped the chuckling, though. It wasn't that it was a bad picture or anything. It was just one that had always made him stop and think each time he looked at it.

He pealed the old Kodak moment from the wall and brought it close to his face. This photo always gave him a thick wave of guilt when he looked at it, remembering its events. Because this was the event when Troy had to pick which girl to like: Gabriella or Sharpay.

-flashback-

It was two years ago, at Martha Cox's sweet sixteen. The whole school was basically invited, explaining why the party room was packed. Once word got out that it was going to be unchaperoned, the cheerleaders thought it would be a great time to play seven minutes in heaven.

Troy and Sharpay didn't want to play, though. Troy was somewhat shy being alone with girls who he didn't really know, and Sharpay didn't want to make out with some random guy…unless, of course, it was Joe Jonas.

"Aww come on, Choy!" Bret Daniel's slurred. Someone had obviously spiked whatever was in the boy's plastic red cup. Or maybe he did it all on his own. Who knew?

"It's Troy." Troy corrected icily.

"Whateverr. Come on, maan! J-just do it. You can be locked up in a room with hawt chickss!" Wow, alcohol really messed up this guy's speech, Sharpay thought, her face frowning at the looks Bret was giving her.

"No thanks, Bret. Now can you leave us alone?"

"No, y-you gotta…if you wanna make the team." Bret smirked. He knew Troy desperately wanted to join the basketball team, and would do whatever it took to make the cut. But he really just wanted to see Troy's reaction when he was sent to the closet.

"I have to play this to make the team?" Troy questioned in disbelief.

"Yup yup yup!" Bret smiled with a goofy grin.

Troy looked over at Sharpay for her answer. She placed her hand delicately on his and nodded. He knew how much basketball meant to Troy. And besides, how bad was seven minutes in a tiny dark closet? It's not like it would make her jealous or anything.

Troy muttered a "Fine," before standing up and joining the group of drunken teens.

"Heyy, Chris! We got anotheer one!" Bret called out. A tall boy with spiky black hair, who Troy presumed to be Chris, walked over to Troy and Bret. He held out to Troy a baseball cap that was filled with small slips of paper.

"Pick one," Chris laughed. Troy remembered that when you came into the party, you had to write your name on a small slip of paper and hand it in. he thought it was just a way to sign everyone in or something. Anyone's name out be in there. Even a dude's!

"Pick, Sloy!" Bret slurred again, alcohol making it hard to even remember Troy's simple name. Shutting his eyes tight, Troy stuck a hand into the hat. His hand fished around for a few seconds, until he pulled a name out. Slowly, he opened the piece of paper.

But before he could see the name, another slip of paper fell out. It had been stuck in the one he picked.

"I got two," Troy said to Chris and Bret.

"Weell then pick one, dummyy," Bret said as if it were obvious.

Troy rolled his eyes at Bret's comment and looked at the two slips of paper. They were both open, and both names were clear and visible.

Gabriella Montez
Sharpay Evans

"Oh no," Troy muttered.

"Well, which is it?" Chris asked, his voice much more clear than Bret's. Troy looked behind his shoulder at Sharpay, who was still sitting on the couch he had left her at. She was watching him, a curious – and now confused – expression taking over her facial features.

He then looked around the crowd of players, and saw Gabriella. She was wearing a very small dress, its color redder than any red M&M. she caught Troy's look, and smiled a sexy little smile back at him.

Troy took in a gulp, his face feeling hot and his pants feeling much tighter than they did a second ago. He looked back down at his slips of paper, Sharpay in his right hand and Gabriella in his left. He had to choose right now, which girl he wanted: Sharpay, or Gabriella.

"Gabriella Montez?"

Hoots and whistlers were being shouted by the crowd. Bret and Chris patted Troy on the back, before pushing him to the closet door. Gabriella walked over to him, her six inch heals clacking with each step she took.

"Ready?" she asked him. Jeez, by the end of the night he was sure if he'd be able to get out of his pants. Troy could only nod, his voice too dry to speak.

Gabriella smiled again and opened the door, walking in first. Before he joined, though, Troy looked back at Sharpay. She was staring at him, a blank expression on her face. Even though she hadn't been close enough to hear the situation he had been in, Troy felt like she knew. Troy had a feeling that Sharpay knew that he had picked Gabriella over her. But Troy turned his back on her and walked into the closet, shutting the door behind him.

"There you are, sexy." Gabriella giggled. It was too dark for Troy to see where she was. "What took you so long?"

"Um, nothing." Troy lied. Suddenly, he felt Gabriella's arms snaking around his neck. "Look, Gabriella, you really don't have too."

"But…I want to." Gabriella said innocently.

"But you're with Zeke." Troy said, his voice unconfident.

"What Zeke doesn't know…won't hurt him." Gabriella whispered. Troy could feel her breath instantly hit his lips. And before he could respond, Gabriella's lips were crashed onto his, and she was pressing her body against him. A strange feeling went through his stomach. Gabriella was the enemy – she always had since before he could remember. Then why did their kiss feel so…fantastic?

Just as quickly as her lips had came, the disappeared. The closet light suddenly was on, and Troy could see that Gabriella was the one who did it. Her arms left his neck, and she stepped a few inches away from him.

"Do you want me Troy?" Gabriella asked, that smirk still play across her plump lips.

"I-I, um, I-" before he could say a complete sentence, she reached behind her back. Slowly, she pulled the zipper of her dress down, and raised her arms, causing the expensive red material to fall to the ground. This left her in merely a pink push-up and matching thong.

"Seven minutes is plenty of time."

--

Six and a half minutes later, Gabriella and Troy immerged. Gabriella gave Troy a peck on the cheek, and then walked back off with her friends. Troy nodded and then walked back to the couch he had left Sharpay at. But when he got there, she wasn't around.

"Sharpay?"

His phone began to vibrate, telling him he got a new text message. He pulled the phone out and read the note.

Troy – had to be home if I needed to make my curfew. Chad and Jason are still here if you need a ride. XX – Pay

Troy sighed, feeling a pang of guilt for leaving her. He slid his phone back into his pocket. Maybe he should find his other friends and leave…

"Heeyyyy man, how was it?" Bret said as he and Chris walked up to Troy.

"Oh, you know, same old, same old."

"Dude, that was Gabriella Montez. She's taken, but she'll still do it with someone who's worthy. So, how far did you get?" Chris asked.

Troy bit his bottom lip. Should he tell them? These guys weren't exactly his friends. But then again, any of his real friends probably wouldn't want to hear of his recent activities. And he was dying to scream it out.

Slowly, out of the pocket from his jacket, he pulled out Gabriella's pink push-up bra. "Third base, fellas."

Chris and Bret cheered, high fiving Troy.

"You are defiantly on the team my friend." Chris said.

Troy smiled graciously, but then walked away. He was still feeling guilty. Those seven minutes with Gabriella were…wow. And in the closet, Gabriella admitted that she had been crushing on Troy for a long time. Gabriella Montez, one of the most popular cheerleaders East High ever had. But Troy couldn't help but wonder about Sharpay. What if he had picked her? Would she even have gone in with him? Probably, Troy was the person she felt safest with, after all. But now, Troy felt different. He was sure Sharpay would still feel safest with him.

Sharpay could never know about this. Never.

-end-

Troy sighed again as the memory ended. He was still holding the picture. Someone took a picture of him when he was picking the name, or should he say names, from the cap. The person who took it put it up on Facebook and emailed it to him. He could see Gabriella in the background. She was sitting on Zeke's lap. Troy never knew Zeke was in the room at the time. If he had known…

Zeke was the thing about Gabriella that Troy didn't understand. They had been dating since they were what, five? And Zeke really loved Gabriella. But she always seemed to be crushing on someone else, or going on dates with someone else, or even going farther than Troy had with someone else. And Zeke would never mind, and stay with her each time. Troy didn't understand how he could do that. Troy would never tolerate it. But maybe Zeke was just so desperate to be with his dream girl that he wouldn't mind if other guys got with her at the same time.

Troy put the picture back on the wall – never quite sure why it was up there in the first place. He looked at his phone again. No new voice messages, no new text messages. He leaned his head against the wooden wall and looked out the small window.

"Where are you, Pay?"

--

"We should be getting back, Sharpay." Zeke said.

"Yeah, you're right. It's probably getting late." Sharpay began to stand up, when Zeke's hand grabbed her arms and stopped her.

"But before we go," Zeke interrupted. "We have to make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"You have to promise me that you'll tell Troy about your secret. It's not fair for him to not know." Sharpay thought it over. She knew he was right, but it was so hard…

"Ok, how about this? When we go back, I'll find Troy, and if he can go an hour without mentioning Gabriella, I'll tell him."

"I can live with that." Zeke agreed.

"And you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone my secret, AND you have to show Gabriella that she can't step all over you."

"But, what if I don't mind it?" Zeke asked.

"She'll have a lot more respect for you if you let her know, Zeke." Sharpay said sternly.

"Ok…deal."

"Oh, and uh, one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Since you now know the biggest secret in all of Salem, and it happens to be mine, do you think we can try to be friends?" Sharpay asked.

Zeke smiled. "I think I'd like that."

"Okay, let's get out of here." Sharpay smiled and stood up, her hands outstretched to hold Zeke's.

"Will I be in less pain this time?" Zeke asked warily.

"Oh yeah…if you count vomiting and sprains as being in less pain."

"Yippy skippy."

--

Sharpay was walking down her street, on her way to bed, when someone pulled her aside behind another house.

"Hey!!" Sharpay squealed.

"Oh shut it, Blondie." A familiar voice said. Sharpay looked up and saw that it was Gabriella.

"What do you think your doing?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Gabriella retorted.

"What are you talking about?"

"What makes you think you own Troy?" Gabriella asked, demanding an answer.

"I don't think I own Troy."

"Oh, I think you do. If you didn't, why else would you always do things you know would get his attention?"

"Gabriella, you aren't making any sense."

"Why did you run out of the gym during the pep rally? You really suck when it comes to jealousy. You just can't ever stand when Troy picks me over you. You never have been able to. But when you left, you were all Troy thought about the whole game. And you know what? Pretty soon, he left. He ditched the game, and trust me, Coach Simpson won't be too damn happy next time he sees Troy. Face it, Evans. Troy wants me, not you. You won't ever be anything to him. EVER."

Sharpay looked down at her shoes, hoping Gabriella wouldn't notice how her eyes were suddenly red and stinging.

"You're right." Sharpay mumbled.

"…What?"

"I said you're right, Gabriella. I'm never going to anything to him, so that's why I'm not going to try. But you have that chance without even trying. He won't admit it, but I'm sure Troy likes you. But…Troy does mean something to me. I am his friend. Which is why, I think…"

"Thank what? Spit it out, Evans!"

"I think that we should be friends."


Sorry, I love giving you guys mega twists and cliffhangers. Aren't I just evil? Please review!! I'm trying to do better on my updating for you guys!!

xo Jenna