A/N: Guys so this is a year later, this is the same year as in the Prologue

Chapter 12 –

Finally Troy broke the spell and got in the car. "Bye chère, I'll call you soon. Je t'aime!" "Bye Troy!" She watched as he drove away. Slowly she walked back to her own apartment. She walked in and sat down on the chair facing the window. She looked around the room. It felt way too big.

September 2007

Sharpay dropped her box outside the suite door and opened it. Somehow she and the girls managed to get the same room as they had the year before and so did the guys. She picked up her box and walked in. "Hello!" She looked around. "Anyone home?"

"Shar!" Gabriella tackled her. "Hey! How are you?"

"Great how are you?" She put he box down before she dropped it and gave her friend a hug.

"Fantastic!" She opened the door and shouted into the hall. "Hey you guys! Guess who's back!"

They came out of their suite. " Sharpay!" They all hugged. "How was your summer?"

"Good. How were yours'?

"Great!" They helped her bring up the rest of her stuff from the car. They all went back to the girls' room and sat and talked, trading stories about the summer. Everyone had a summer job that they seemed to take to quite well. Now they were pretty much ready for another gruelling year at university.

Taylor grabbed her arm. "So what ever happened between you and Troy?"

Sharpay shook her head. "Nothing much. We've talked on the phone like we usually do. But after he visited me in Taos that time he hasn't had the time to visit. He's just too busy. When he wasn't doing a concert or interviews or travelling he was teaching at some school in Prague."

"Wow! Talk about busy! Too bad you guys couldn't spend more time together." Taylor patted her arm.

Sharpay shrugged. "We're always on the phone so it's not that bad." But it was that bad.

Sharpay just wanted to spend more time with him. As it was they were spending whatever downtime Troy had, on the phone. If they didn't get to spend some time together soon they were going to go crazy. She was beginning to think that they might as well not have a relationship. Sharpay pushed the thought of not seeing him out of her mind. It was too terrible to think. "Where's Kelsi? Isn't she back yet?"

Everyone shook their heads. "She's suppose to be back tomorrow I think."

"Cool."

Everyone got into their routines over the next few weeks. Classes, studying, hanging out; it was the same thing over and over everyday. The girls added some variety to the monotony by shopping and working out. They even went hiking when they had the time. It was fantastic to have the woods right behind the residence. There were trails for kilometres. For Sharpay it was heaven. Still she wished she could share it all with Troy.

Sharpay engrossed herself into her work, so that she could keep her mind off of him. Her room was piled with books for research and she hardly had time to hang out as much as they use to. She found that any time she wasn't working she was thinking about him, so she kept her mind going on other things.

There was a knock at the door. Sharpay looked at her clock it was almost 2am. As usual the rest of the girls were fast asleep and couldn't hear anyone knocking or at least pretended not to, content in letting someone else get out of bed. And that someone was usually Sharpay.

She was in the middle of her usual late night reading session when she heard the noise and went to investigate. Sharpay was disappointed that Troy hadn't called today. Usually by this time she would have heard from him at least once. So she wasn't in the best of moods as she slowly walked to the door. She was too tired to bother with the peephole. "This had better be important." Sharpay opened the door a crack and peeked out ready to yell at whoever it was.

"It is important. I haven't seen you in too long." The accented voice came floating through the tiny crack.

"Troy!" The choked whisper left her lips as if she was afraid that a loud noise would make the vision of him disappear. The fatigue evaporated leaving unbelievable joy. She swung the door openand threw herself into his arms.

"Shar!" He looked just as tired as she was but he dropped his bag and picked her up anyways and hugged her inhaling the fresh floral scent that was as much a part of her as her blonde hair spun . "God it's been too long!"

After he left her in Taos, it was nothing but one problem after another. He couldn't believe the horrible luck that plagued him. Piano strings mysteriously breaking, venues not being ready, interview times getting mixed up, things mysteriously going missing; it drove him crazy especially since all he wanted to do was be with Sharpay. Over the months he got more crazed to see her. So he took the first chance he had and flew over.

He pulled back and looked at her, etching her features into his mind. She looked very much the tired student in her T-shirt and shorts. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and wisps of it had escaped and framed her face. He smiled. It had gotten longer. She looked adorable. His eyes were drawn to where 'U' on her UONM T-shirt outlined her nipple. He watched as it grew tight under his gaze.

Sharpay licked her lips nervously. Troy looked incredible. His hair was tousled and he had a shadow of stubble on his face. She brought her hand to it and touched it lightly, liking the rough feel of it on her fingers. Sharpay had never seen him with stubble before. It made a nice change. He took her hand and kissed her palm.

He swung her up in his arms and carried her to her room. Sharpay enjoyed the way that the world slanted at a crazy angle.

Troy laid her on the bed and joined her there hovering above her. "Shar I missed you so much." He kissed her again and again, unable to stop himself. She tasted sweet, like nectar. Troy groaned his pleasure. It felt so good to hold her in his arms again. He pulled up to look at her. Her eyes were half closed and her smiling lips were swollen with his kisses.

Sharpay didn't want him to stop. "Troy, I missed you too." She pulled him down to her and kissed him, nibbling at his lips. She ran her hands through his hair and held him to her. She pulled up his shirt and dragged her hands over his bare, muscled stomach.

He drew a sharp breath. " Sharpay!" It came out as a harsh whisper. Troy loved it when she touched him. He kissed her neck and nibbled a path to her collarbone. One hand wound itself in her hair while the other found it's way up her T-shirt to gently caress a breast. He kissed her again, enjoying her sweet taste. He moved his mouth to nibble on her ear and then to trail a path of kisses down her throat. Troy caressed her breast through her shirt with his lips. Sharpay moaned her pleasure. "Troy!"

His name brought him back to his senses. Grudgingly, he pulled back. "Shar... we have to... stop." His chest was heaving as he fought for a breath. He hadn't meant to attack her like that. He struggled to get his body under control. "I'm so sorry I..."

Sharpay was confused for a moment, and then realized what they were doing. What they almost... She blinked a few times then looked at him. He was so controlled. If he hadn't
stopped... Aware of the feeling of disappointment, Sharpay caressed his cheek. "It's ok Troy. It wasn't only you." Sharpay sat up and tried to steady herself. She hadn't realized how much she wanted him.

"Shar...what you must think of me." He looked ashamed of himself.

She put her finger on his mouth. "Troy, don't do that to yourself. I didn't exactly say no." She hugged him and could feel the tension in his body. "Troy it's ok, really. It was inevitable." "Chère..." He tried to apologize again.

Sharpay shook her head. "Troy, don't." She gave him a look that told him she was serious. "Come on you must be tired." She let him have the bed while she took a couple of blankets and lay on the floor.

"Sharpay you take the bed." He looked guilty now.

"Troy." Her tone was authoritative.

"Ok ok. Good night chère." He took off his shirt and jeans and got under the covers.

"Night Troy." She kissed him good night.

The night went by so fast it felt like she blinked. Sharpay awoke with the feeling she was being watched. She rolled to her side and found Troy watching her from his perch on the bed.

"Morning."

"You are so incredibly beautiful." He smiled as she blushed. "It's true chère."

"Well you're not too bad yourself you know." She stood up. He pulled her down onto the bed. She let him, laughing all the while.

He gave her a kiss. "Shar, I have to go."

Her eyes were huge. "No! You can't go already! You only just got here a few hours ago." He had to be kidding. "We haven't even done anything!"

He knew how she felt. "I'm sorry chère but I must."

"Why did you bother coming then?" Sharpay looked at him. "We barely even got the chance to talk." Her temper started to flare.

"I needed to see you Sharpay. It's been way too long since we've seen each other." He kissed her palm. "You understand right?"

She scowled then sighed. "Yeah, I do. It's so unfair though." She ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "When will you be back?"

"Soon."

"You said that last time."

"This time nothing will stop me." He grinned. "NOTHING."