Chapter Eleven

I Dare You to Kiss Me

Sharpay looked at the front door, taking in a deep breath. Normally she wouldn't knock, but something told her she better do it today. She had no idea if Troy was going to kill her or not, and how the rest of the family felt about her. She knew that what she had done had to have hurt him, but it wasn't that bad… was it?

She finally lifted her hand and slowly knocked. She waited a few seconds, straightening out her top, to keep herself occupied. When the door finally opened, she came face to face with Tatiana, who seemed rather surprised to see her there.

"Hey…" she said, her lips curling into a smile, "Hi Payday!"

"Can I… can I come in?" Sharpay questioned, arching her eyebrow slightly, in question.

"When do you ever knock?" Tatiana just stated, as she opened the door fully, to let Sharpay get through. Tatiana closed the door behind them, and eyed the younger girl for a few seconds, before letting out a deep sigh, "So… What's up?"

"Can you tell Troy I'm here?" Sharpay asked.

"TROY!?" Tatiana hollered, up the staircase, which caused Sharpay to jump a little, though she should have known. Tatiana never did anything the 'normal' way. She was kinda weird – and funny – like that. She would much rather holler up the stairs, annoying the whole household, than actually use the pair of feet she was born with to go up there, "YOU HAVE COMPANY!"

"I could've done that myself, y'know?" Sharpay said, as she just looked at her, laughter playing in her eyes.

Tatiana then rolled her eyes, and made her way into the kitchen to the rest of her family, mumbling something that sounded a lot like, "Then why the hell did you ask me? Hmm, no wonder you've gone blonde."

Before Sharpay managed to reply to that 'insult', Tatiana had rounded the corner to the kitchen, and Troy was moving down the stairs, sounding like 50 elephants, and not one teenage boy. He paused by the bottom of the staircase, when he saw her, and his face immediately turned into a frown.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice stern, but his eyes gave him away. Sharpay had always been able to read him like an open book, and she could see that he was happy to see her, just as she was happy to see him. She could also tell he was sad, and hurt, and that made her feel bad.

"Troy, please, don't do this…" she said, as she took a step closer to him, "I've come here so we can talk this out, alright? I hate fighting with you, and it's stupid. You're my best friend."

"And still you blew me off for your boyfriend." Troy said, and it was almost as if his blue eyes were shooting flashes.

"Yes," Sharpay agreed, her voice quivering with emotion, because she hated to see him hurt. Especially if she was the one who hurt him, "And I'm sorry, it's not right to do that. But it was Hannah's birthday, I couldn't just blow it off, alright? I had hoped you'd understand, but I guess you don't."

"We always hang out on Friday nights!" Troy argued, brushing his hair out of his eyes, by a swift of his hand, "It's an unspoken rule in our friendship, and you just broke it! You trampled all over me!"

"Oh, c'mon, Troy!" Sharpay argued back, raising her voice slightly with him. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Tatiana, Tessa and Ashlee peeking at them from the kitchen, but she didn't care enough to tell them to move. If things continued the way they were headed between her and Troy, they'd hear them no matter what, because of their loud voices; "It was one night! I want to spend time with you, don't think I don't! I care about you, I love you, but you're making things so hard!"

"I'm making things hard!?" Troy yelled, jumping onto the floor, so he was right in front of her, "You're the one who chose your boyfriend over your best friend!"

"I'd never choose Zeke over you, Troy!" Sharpay yelled back, rolling her eyes, "I love Zeke, and he's important to me, but not as much as you. Boyfriends are gonna come and go, but I expect us to be friends for life! Heck, I'd even break up with a guy, if it turned out you and him didn't get along. I love you Troy!"

"Then break up with him." Troy told her, looking deeply into her eyes.

Sharpay could her the eavesdroppers gasp, before she lost her jaw herself, "What? Troy – no. That's silly… Why?"

"You just said you'd break up with a guy for me," Troy said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, "Then how about you prove it?"

"Why would I break up with Zeke? You like Zeke." Sharpay stated, calming herself down from the inside. This conversation was getting weirder and weirder by the minute, and she couldn't by any means figure out what was going through Troy's head as they spoke.

"Yeah, but… you just said that-"

"That I'd break up with a guy if you didn't get along, Troy," Sharpay said, shaking her head lightly, "But you and Zeke get along just fine, which I'm really happy about, 'cuz right now… you two are some of the most important people in my life. I can't imagine going through the rest of high school without you both there. I don't understand what this is all about."

"Well, what if I didn't get along with him?" Troy asked, crossing his arms firmly across the chest, as he glared her down, "Would you break up with him?"

"That's not even an issue, 'cuz you guys get along just fine, okay? Why are we having this discussion, Troy?"

"Why are you avoiding my question, Sharpay?" he shot back, not blinking.

"Troy, please…" Sharpay begged, "This is ridiculous!"

"Why are you acting so childish, Sharpay?!"

Sharpay dropped her jaw, as anger build up in her again, "CHILDISH?! I'm acting childish!? YOU'RE THE ONE ACTING CHILDISH, TROY GODDAMNIT BOLTON!"

"Would you stop with the yelling!, I can't hear myself think!" Troy yelled back, stomping his foot into the floor, to get his point across.

"Gosh, I think they're both acting childish." Tatiana commented to the two younger girls, as Troy and Sharpay continued their argument.

"Yeah," Tessa agreed, rolling her eyes.

"They act like a couple who have been married for more than 50 years!" Ashlee giggled, and the two other girls giggled along, because they did just that. No wonder the two of them seemed so couple-ish at times. They always acted like it, and some of the things they argued over was just… weird.

They were pulled back into the argument, and away from their thoughts, by Sharpay hitting Troy across the chest, using all her strength, which caused him to stumble backwards and into the stairs, because she was fairly strong.

"Well then!" she said, looking down at him, hands on hips, "If you don't want to listen to me, fine!, mind your own business, I don't care!"

And with those words she turned around and hurried out the front door, making sure to smack it close behind her. Tatiana immediately helped her little brother up, but made sure to give him a hard glare.

"What!?" he just questioned, staring down at his feet.

"Did you have to be so hard on her?" Tatiana asked, shaking her head slightly, "She wanted to apologize Troy, couldn't you see she meant well?" she paused, but when she got no respond, she let out a deep sigh, "…and by the way, you were the one acting most childish."

And then she turned around too, and went into the kitchen with Tessa and Ashlee, to continue their game.

--

Viola, Richard and Ryan were eating brunch, when they heard the front door smack close, and a loud scream, rolling through their mansion. Had it been a really bad cartoon, a vase or a light bulb would definitely have been cracked to pieces.

"I guess Sharpay's home?" Richard suggested, shooting his wife and son a suggestive grin.

They just nodded and continued their brunch, as Sharpay ran up the stairs, stomping her feet into the floor with every step she took. She was screaming in anger, and tears were streaming out of her eyes and down her cheeks. She was so angry, she didn't know how she even made it home. All she wanted was to hit Troy across the head, and hurt him just to make him realize how stupid he was being. But then again, she didn't want to hurt him, so she had settled for a push, and then stormed out of there.

They were both being childish, and stupid and stubborn, but she didn't care. If she couldn't explain to him why she had chosen Zeke for one night, then it was his own choice. It wasn't like she didn't love him anymore, and that she loved Zeke more, because she didn't. Sometimes there was just things she had to do, and he had to realize that she had a life going on as well. The whole argument was stupid in her eyes, and she regretted getting this worked up over it. She was sure, that she'd be embarrassed when she saw him again.

She sat down on her bed, and reached for the remote control to her stereo. She hit play, not caring what was in, and Taylor Swift immediately started playing. She was smiling to herself, when she realized what song it was. Mary's Song (Oh My, My, My). That song reminded her so much of she and Troy, and how they grew up with each other. Their fathers had always joked about the two of them, and their friendship had always been just great. It really brought back memories, and made their fight seem more and more pointless.

"What are you doing, Twoy?" Sharpay asked, her big brown eyes full of amazement, as she watched her best friend take his shirt off. She still had problems pronouncing her R's and S's after she got her braces on. Troy didn't have braces on. It was just her. She had asked her mother why, and she'd said that she had crooked teeth, and it had to be fixed. Sharpay didn't understand that.

"What does it look like, Paypay?" Troy asked, as he fumbled with his shorts as well, "I'm gonna go dance in the rain."

Sharpay glanced out of the door for a quick moment, staring at the rain falling heavily down from Heaven, "But why arre you undwessing?"

"I don't want my clothes to get wet, silly!" Troy laughed, shaking his head. He sometimes wondered if Sharpay was 5 years old as he had just turned, because she definitely didn't act like it at times, "If I go out with it, I'm not gonna have anything dry to put on when I get back in."

"But you can't just dance awound in your underwear!" Sharpay argued, fiddling nervously with her overalls as well. What he was doing was absolutely weird, but she still wanted to be a part of it, "Can you?"

"I won't," Troy assured her, as he grabbed the waistband of his superman briefs, and pulled down, "I'm gonna dance around naked!"

"Eew!" Sharpay quickly said, covering her eyes with her hands, "Don't! Take them oon, again, Twoy!"

"No!" he argued, as he reached out to undo the buttons on her overalls, which he did, causing them to fall quickly to the floor from her thin frame.

"What are you dwoing!?" she shrieked, as she peeked through her fingers, looking him deep in the eyes, "Why are you undwessing me, too?"

"Because you're going with me, silly." Troy told her, shaking his head at her, as if she should have known that.

"But whyy?" she asked him, finally putting her hands by her sides, motioning to pull her overalls up.

"Because it's more fun with you with me."

She looked up at him insecurely for a second, before glancing briefly at his 'private possessions', "…but I don't wanna be naked."

"It's more fun that way," Troy said, with a light shrug of his shoulders, and a glint in his blue eyes, "Are you coming? We have to go outside before the rain stops."

She glanced outside again, before stepping out of her overalls, and then standing up, "Okay then, but your mommy can't see us." She told him, as he helped her pull her tee over her head, leaving her brown curls an even messier mess than they were before, "Promise?"

"Of course not. She's busy with dad in the bedroom. I don't know what they're doing, but they're making some weird sounds. They won't hear or see us." Troy promised her, as she got out of her underwear, shyly looking up at him, her cheeks getting read.

He glanced at her too, and only now did he get shy too, as she let out a low giggle.

"You look nice," he told her.

She glanced at him again, "So do you," she replied, before reaching out for his hand. He took it firmly in his, and opened the backdoor, to get into their backyard. The rain was still falling, and they got soaked immediately. Sharpay's hair fell around her face, and Troy reached out to stroke a piece of her fringe out of her eyes.

"Wanna dance?" he then asked her, as he turned around in the mud, splashing it everywhere.

"Twoy!" she quickly said, staring him down, her piercing brown eyes telling him that she did definitely not approve of getting mud all over her.

"Come now, Paypay," he said, taking her hand again, "This is fun, let's run."

She nodded slightly and then the two of them started to run around in the Boltons backyard, eventually playing catch, where Troy had to catch Sharpay. Then when he did, they both slid in the slippery mud, and ended on their butts in a big pool of mud. They looked at each other for a second, shocked, but then they started laughing, and eventually Troy leaned in to hug Sharpay tightly.

"You're my bestest friend, Twoy," she told him, as she reached her hand out and stroked his muddy cheek.

"Best friends for ever." Troy said, nodding his head.

"For ever, and ever," Sharpay promised, kissing his cheek lightly. As she pulled back, they just looked into each others eyes, staring blankly at the other. Suddenly Sharpay reached out, and placed a hand on his cheek, "Can you kiss me, Twoy?"

Troy looked a bit unsure of what his answer was to that question, "Why?"

"I want you to kiss me." Sharpay stated, her voice getting a weird sound to it, "I dare you to kiss me."

"Okay then," Troy sighed, as he went to lean in closer, to plant a chaste kiss on her lips. But before he got that far, Sharpay's eyes went wide, and she rushed from her seat in the mud, and towards their kitchen door.

Poor Troy just stared after her, confusedly, before getting up to follow her.

Sharpay laughed at the memory, as happy tears started streaming down her face. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, because that little piece of history just made her so happy. Their stupid argument didn't seem to matter at all anymore. It was just plain dumb to be arguing over something like that.

She wiped her tears away and hurried to her desk, quickly scribbling a note down to Troy. It was just a few lines, but she knew it'd trig his memory. And if he couldn't forgive her after that, then she didn't know what to do…

She hurried to the Messenger, and quickly pulled the string, making sure it got safe across, to his window.

--

Troy was sitting still, thinking back at his fight with Sharpay, and what he should have done different, when he heard the Messenger ring. He honestly hadn't expected Sharpay to want to speak with him at all, so that was quite a surprise. But he got off of his bed, and opened the window, to take the little note. As he looked up, she was already gone from the window, so he sat down again, unfolding the note:

" 'Took me back to the house in the backyard tree
Said you'd beat me up you were bigger than me
You never did, you never did
Took me back when our world was one block wide
I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried
Just two kids, you and I
Oh, my, my, my, my,'

- Taylor Swift, Mary's Song (Oh My, My, My)."

Troy couldn't help but chuckle a little, as he read the verse over one more time. He could feel himself tear up, and he knew just where she was coming from. There were other things. More important things, than one Friday night. He should just be grateful that he had a friend like her.

He quickly reached for his cell on his table, and dialed her number, which he – of course – knew by heart, waiting for her response. Of course he didn't have to wait long – she had been expecting it. And hoped for it with all her heart.

"'You're my bestest friend, Troy' the little curly head said," Troy started, before she could say 'hi', his voice slightly hoarse, "'Best friends forever', the boy promised her with a nod of his head."

"'For ever and ever'," they agreed, their voices as one.

Troy couldn't help but chuckle again, and he could her Sharpay giggle, though it was evident that she was crying as well. He turned to look through his window, and found her already standing there. She waved at him, a bright smile playing on her lips, and he waved back, knowing how foolish he had to look, with a grin of his own.

"…I love you, Troy," Sharpay told him, her voice still quivering.

"I love you too," Troy assured her, "Let's forget about everything, okay? I was stupid."

"I was stupid," Sharpay said, wiping her eyes off with the back of her hand, "Look, can you come over later? We can watch movies, and just… hang out. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Troy whispered.

"So can you?"

"I'll be there." He promised, before hanging up the phone, and rushing to get his things together. It was only 10:30am, and her parents were still home. But he couldn't wait to see her. It had been too long since he last did.

So there you have it, my dears. This chapter was shorter than how I normally roll, but yeah, I guess this was just it. Normally, it was supposed to like, their whole night and stuff, but I got this idea of how to get them to make up, and it got longer, so I figured cutting off here would be okay? Then I can write about their night in the next chappie. And then there WILL definitely be some Troypay-ness. I already promised you in this chapter, I guess I delivered, kinda, right? I mean it wasn't totally WITHOUT Troypay-ness… It was there, lol.

So okay? Did I like, tease you with the title of the chapter? Tell me, I hope I did. I hope some of you thought you'd see some Troypay action, but not just yet my dears. It'll be awhile until, 'cuz I have some stuff I need to take care of first, and ideas and such. I really hope I tricked some of you with the title, but if I didn't, then yeah… Hah xD Not much I can do, right?

So okay. If any of you have ideas to what they can do in the next chapter, tell me, and I'll consider them. I have a few of my own, but not enough… I think. We'll see. Just if you have any ideas, tell me, and I'll credit you with them.

And you know what? Hairdressers are idiots. I went to get my hair cut, like normal people do, and my hairdresser almost cut all my hair off! I had like, really long hair, and then she cut it just above my shoulders, which I have now proved, does not look good on me. I swear, I cried for an hour after I got home. I really miss my hair, but luckily enough (one positive side, people!) I'm a really hat-obsessed person, who wears hats all the time, so I'll just stuff it all up beneath a hat everyday. But yeah. I thought I'd share my misery. And I'm definitely switching hairdressers.

Disclaimer; I don't own High School Musical, or Mary's Song (Oh My, My, My). That one is by Taylor Swift, and I really love it. Ah, I love all her songs, so no surprise there, really.