Troy, Chad, and Taylor stared at Zeke and Gabriella as they found a table, all of them unable to look away.
"Are they on a date?" Taylor asked. As Troy was about to open his mouth to say that there was no way they could be, Zeke reached across the table to take Gabriella's hand in his.
"You two didn't know about this, did you?" Troy demanded.
"Absolutely not. I would have kicked his ass for you if I knew," Chad said.
"I can not believe Gabriella!" Taylor scowled, still not taking her eyes off her roommate. Troy couldn't take it anymore, so he broke his death glare from Zeke's face and turned his attention back to his hot wings. He found it increasingly difficult to choke down each bite while his stomach kept lurching. His brain wouldn't be quiet and a million possibilities were running full speed through his head. Was this thing with Zeke and Gabi new? Had she been cheating on Troy with him? Were they intentionally keeping it a secret from everyone? How the hell did Gabriella consider Zeke more of an intellectual than she had considered Troy?
Leaving half his basket full, he shoved it away and rested his elbows on the table, leaning his body in closer to Chad and Taylor. He knew that they hadn't seen them yet and that they could get a lot of the scoop if they played their cards right.
"Okay, Chad, we're going to sneak out and hope that they don't see us. Taylor, pretend that you're coming in to pick up dinner for you and Chad and go over when you're done ordering food and find out what the hell's going on. I'll pay for it, just buy a bunch of hot wings," Troy said in a hushed voice, sliding a twenty across the table to her. He hated being sneaky, but he had to know what was going on and he had to know what it was as soon as possible. Taylor nodded and Chad looked like he was about to complain about the loss of his french fries, but Troy just grabbed his arm and tried to lead them discreetly out of the restaurant.
They were almost out the door when Troy heard Zeke call out to him.
"Fuck," Chad muttered, stopping with his hand on the door handle as they both heard Zeke's footsteps rapidly approach. Troy shoved him hard from behind and with that they continued heading out the door.
"Troy! Don't walk away, come on," Zeke said and Troy shoved open the second set of doors, welcoming the comforting feel of the New Mexico heat hitting his face. Once they were safely outside and also out of the range of hearing for all the patrons of the restaurant, Troy turned to face Zeke.
"Well?" Troy asked, crossing his arms defensively over his chest. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Chad move beside him, his body position unintentionally matching Troy's.
"I don't know what to say, man," Zeke shrugged.
"Well I suggest you figure it out because I want to know why the fuck you're holding hands with my very recently ex-girlfriend," Troy spat, barely noticing that Gabriella and Taylor were now outside watching the exchange.
"It just happened," Zeke said.
"Oh, so it just happened just like you just happened to fuck Ryan?" Troy asked Gabriella who rolled her eyes in obvious annoyance and put her hands on her hips.
"This is nothing like that," Zeke answered for her, "That was a one-time thing and this-"
"This is what, Zeke? Not a one-time thing? How the hell long has this been going on?"
"We didn't start really seeing each other until after you two broke up, I swear."
"So what were you doing before then? If you weren't really seeing each other until after, then what the fuck were you doing before we broke up?" Troy asked, and the very pregnant pause told him everything he needed to know. "So you two were sleeping with each other before we broke up? Nice. Very fucking nice."
"Troy!" Gabriella called out to him as he stormed off for his car, "Taylor!"
"I'm not on your side with this, Gabriella," Taylor said before following. Chad and Taylor hardly had time to jump into the car before Troy peeled out of his parking spot and left Zeke and Gabriella standing there watching them drive away. Troy was aware of the fact that he was breathing heavily and that his fingers were gripping the steering wheel so hard this knuckles were turning white, and as he stopped at the first red light they came to, he pulled back his hand and punched the center of his steering wheel as hard as he could. A loud honk sounded, startling even himself.
"I'm so sorry, man," Chad said.
"I just don't know how much more of this shit I can take," Troy admitted, "I hope I never see her again because every time I do, I just find out more and more."
"I can't believe that Zeke would do that. I mean, after all we've learned lately, I can believe that Gabriella would do that, but Zeke?" Taylor said, speaking aloud more than expecting a response from either of them.
"I've given up trying to understand anything. Honestly," Troy sighed, swearing under his breath as his cell phone started vibrating in the cup holder next to him. He expected to see Zeke or Gabriella's pictures on the screen but instead saw Sharpay's name. Reluctantly, he answered.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Hey Troy! What are you doing tonight?" she asked.
"Drinking until I pass out, hopefully," Troy said, maneuvering his car into the McDonald's parking lot where he planned to buy all of them food to compensate for the dinner they'd walked out on.
"Well, come hang out with me and do that," she laughed, "You sound pissed, are you okay?"
"No, I'm really not," Troy admitted.
"Well, we're having a party tonight and you're coming," Sharpay informed him, "And I won't take no for an answer."
"Oh I'm sure you won't," Troy laughed, "What time do you want me there?"
"Nine, and don't be late," was all she said before hanging up. Troy sighed and tossed his phone onto the dashboard before asking Chad and Taylor what they wanted. Taylor returned his twenty to him and after they'd gotten their food they headed back for the dorms without saying much at all to each other. It was as if Taylor and Chad knew that anything they had to say, Troy was already thinking or didn't really need to hear at the moment. He led the way up to their room and plopped himself down on the floor to eat his Quarter Pounder.
"Was that Sharpay on the phone earlier?" Chad asked once they were all settled and finally finishing their dinner. Troy nodded and rubbed his hands over his eyes. He didn't exactly know why he'd agreed to go hang out with Sharpay again. It just felt like everything in his life was so confusing and just kept getting more so. And, Sharpay seemed to have a real knack for showing up right when he just wanted to be left alone or felt at his most vulnerable.
"What are you guys doing?" Taylor asked.
"Drinking, I guess," Troy shrugged, balling up the wrapper to his sandwich and tossing it in the wastebasket before digging into his fries.
"So, you'll be getting some booty, then?" Taylor asked. Troy wanted to respond, but thought better of it and just kept eating instead. He knew that what she had suggested was likely, but didn't want to go into the night expecting it. Sharpay had a tendency to make him forget about all the shitty things going on in his life, and that was what he was looking for above all else.
After hanging out with Chad and Taylor for a few hours, Troy got ready for the party and then headed out. He arrived a few minutes after nine and spent about five minutes looking for Sharpay. When he was about ready to give up, he spotted a flash of light blonde hair shaking in the middle of the sea of dancing bodies in the living room and he headed in there to meet her. She was dancing with some guy in the middle of the group, smiling radiantly and having a great time. Troy situated himself close by, watching her until she finally caught his gaze. Sharpay waved at him and kissed the guy on the cheek before making her way over to him.
"Hey! I was starting to think you stood me up," she smiled.
"Nope. I need a little break from my currently reality. Can you provide that, please?" he asked.
"I think we can come up with something," she said, "But first let's get you a drink." Troy didn't like to admit that he'd been drowning his sorrows in alcohol so much, but he had to as he couldn't wait for the cup full of something strong to be placed into his hand. They stood in the kitchen and chatted about nothing in particular for awhile before Sharpay grabbed his hand and pulled him out to the back porch. "Okay, spill."
"Sharpay, I really don't want to talk about it," Troy sighed, taking a lingering sip of his drink.
"Troy, just take five seconds to tell me. Get it out of your system and then we can just go have fun, okay?" she said. He gave in, too easily probably, but didn't have the patience or energy to argue with Sharpay.
"Zeke is dating Gabriella and they'd been sleeping together before she and I broke up," he said simply, "That's pretty much just the latest info. Can't wait to find out the next big shit bomb she's most likely going to drop on me."
"I have absolutely no idea what to say to that," she said, "Zeke and Gabriella?" He just nodded and finished off his drink. "You don't deserve all this crap, Troy. Seriously." He looked over to find her staring sincerely at him.
"Thanks," he sighed before tipping his glass in her direction, "I need a refill." She nodded and allowed him to change the subject. As they were in the kitchen getting Troy another drink, a brunette in a very tight blue jersey dress approached them. Sharpay sighed while facing Troy but then plastered on a big fake smile as she turned to face the girl.
"Sharpay, this guy's been around several times and you've never introduced us. Who is he?" she asked, never taking her eyes off of Troy's face. He had to fight hard against the desire to roll his eyes at her blatant attempt at flirtation. Sure she was hot, and sure if he was in a better mood he might have been interested, but he wasn't.
"This is Troy Bolton. We've known each other for forever. Old friends, right Troy?" she asked, elbowing him lightly as she tried to get him to help her out with the girl she obviously wasn't very fond of.
"Very old friends," he smiled at the girl.
"Well, I don't think that friends usually spend the night, do they?" she asked, hopefully, obviously wanting Sharpay to say that there was nothing going on between them so she could have a shot with him. Sharpay just blinked at her a few times, her smile never wavering.
"Bye Ashley," she said dismissively through her big fake grin. Ashley returned the feigned nicety before turning and walking away. Sharpay took a deep breath before turning back to face Troy. "I just love all of my sorority sisters."
"She seems… nice," Troy lied.
"Oh she's a pushy, trampy bitch," Sharpay said, prompting Troy to laugh loudly, "Don't you like your drink?"
"I don't think I'm in the mood to drink as much as I thought I was," he admitted, looking into the depths of his glass.
"You want to go upstairs?" she asked. Right then, he realized that he really wasn't in the mood for that either. He just wanted to hang out, and not in the middle of a crazy party. Seeming to read his mind, Sharpay continued. "Just to hang out. We can watch a movie or something."
"That sounds perfect, actually," he said. She grabbed his cup from his hand and threw it into the garbage with her own. He followed her upstairs and once they were behind the safety of her closed door, he toed off his shoes and collapsed dramatically onto her bed. She put in "American Pie" and then laid down beside him, keeping some distance between them. They laughed together and just enjoyed each other's company, talking at times, but mostly just watching the movie. Close to the end, Troy found himself getting sleepy.
"You can stay here if you want. Just to sleep," she said softly. Troy agreed and they both climbed under the covers to finish the movie. "Goodnight, Troy."
"Goodnight, Sharpay."