Sharpay slept soundly on her bed—the hotel bed. She was tired and completely jetlag—and she was not looking forward to having a show tonight and tomorrow night. She was too tired.

The plane ride was terrible, it was bumpy and her ears kept on bothering her—high air pressure. She could not wait to get into her hotel room, of course the taxi took forever, then she had to sit around and wait until the hotel found a vacant room since they had forgotten to reserve a room.

It was not going so well.

The phone rang and she still slept soundly.

The next thing she knew, someone was talking to her.

"Sharpay! It's Ryan!" A male voice rang in Sharpay ears as she slowly awoken from her nap.

"Oh. Right. Hi." She yawned rubbing her eyes and looking at the ceiling. How she picked up the phone while sleeping was beyond her. All she recalled was hearing a sharp, loud voice against her delicate ears and her eyes suddenly popped open. "Why are you calling me—so…." She glanced at the alarm clock on the bed stand. "So late?" Her voice began to fade.

"It's not that late. But wake up sis! I need to talk to you." Ryan's eager voice jerked Sharpay up from her comfortable position. Her blonde hair in a messy jungle as she stood up to turn on the lights in her dim room.

She closed her eyes not use to the brightness just yet.

"What? Ryan?" She asked her voice with sharpness in the end.

Still, she was cranky and wanted nothing more than to get back under those white covers and just fall back asleep. Everyone in the world had to bother here while she was in the middle of relaxing—not that she felt anywhere near relax with this trip. She had so much to worry about. Evelyn was back at home—miles and miles away from her—her house was in the care of her housekeeper who was always in her own world—and she was scared to see how her show would actually turn out tonight. All the worries and stress did not add up to relaxation. It just added up to major chaos.

"How are you and Troy?" Ryan asked sounding like a little kid asking for a lollipop.

Sharpay groaned. This is what her brother called for? To ask how she and Troy were? The same—nothing.

"What do you mean?" She asked in return, annoyed.

"I sense love blooming once again? Gabi sense it too. So I'm guessing it's true." Her twin brother blurted as hyper as he possibly could.

Sharpay drew back a light laugh.

"No." She answered.

"Do you love him?" Ryan questioned a bit disappointed.

He had hoped for his sister and Troy to get together again, that way things could be like old times—when all of them got together—all in couples. Now, every time they did, Troy and Sharpay were always missing. They never attended any reunion. Never.

"I don't want to say I love him. Because I honestly can't make up my mind." Sharpay finally decided to let her mixed up feelings out. At least she knew her brother would keep his mouth shut.

"See, I knew things were flying again when your eyes met." Ryan said proudly.

Sharpay felt herself frown.

"No. And it's best if you don't ask me a question like that ever again." She snapped.

Ryan let it go and quickly changed the subject.

000

"Did you sleep good? You pretty much slept half the day." Troy chuckled

He sat on the couch, along with Evelyn watching a Disney movie. Rachel and the girls had gone back to their apartment for the day and the rest of the time Evelyn was staying so Troy could bond with his daughter. He had asked kindly, just wanting the time being with his little girl since he wasn't exactly around everyday.

"Yeah. I did." She nodded with a slight yawn.

It was lunch time already.

"I'm hungry." Evelyn yawned as her eyes moved from the TV screen to Troy's face.

Troy nodded and walked over to his small, but roomy kitchen. Not exactly being the greatest cook in the world, Troy managed to fix them both grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch—which will do for the afternoon. Dinner was going to be a problem since most of the time he had drive-thru.

"Good?" Troy asked as they ate their small lunch.

"Very." Evelyn tried to smile in between chewing.

"Good." Troy nodded turning up the volume.

As the movie continued, the two ate and chatted every now and then. It was lazy day.

When the movie finished, it was obvious Troy had not exactly planned out on what to do for the day…

In the end, Troy ended up taking both of them to the park and they shared a little picnic. Just a father and daughter day. Of course the food they had were mainly junk food as they had already had lunch.

"Push me on the swings?" Evelyn stood up brushing off the crumbs on her light green flowery summer dress.

Troy nodded and ran after her towards the swings.

"Higher daddy!" She exclaimed getting annoyed at how gentle Troy was being.

Troy apologies and decided it was all right to push her a little higher. He was just being the cautious parent.

After the park, Troy got the idea of taking Evelyn to watch a movie at the mall, since it sounded like a good thing to do. After that, the two did some shopping—even though Troy hated shopping, he didn't mind hanging out with his daughter. She wasn't like Sharpay—where he could remember their greatest times together at the mall. He was usually whining, wanting to head back while Sharpay tried on every single clothing in the mall.

And with that….. the day was over.

"Alright. Ready for bed?" Troy walked into the bedroom Evelyn was in.

Evelyn had already made herself comfy on the bed, just like last night. She was tired for the activities they had done all day.

Troy sat down besides his daughter on the bed and sighed. He was tried and yet sad to see the day come to and end. Everyday that passed was another day close to the day Sharpay would come home from her little trip—and he didn't want her to. He enjoyed being with his daughter. He had missed out on so much.

"Your mom called." Troy spoke wrapping his arms around the nine-year-old's shoulders. "She said she'd be back Monday night." He kissed the top of her head gently. "So she'll pick you up Tuesday morning. Is that okay?" He asked her softly.

Evelyn nodded looking into her dad's crystal blue eyes, just like hers.

"I'll take Monday and Tuesday off work. We can spend some more time together…. It'll just be me and you." He tickled her side, making the little girl giggle. "You've been quiet all day. What's wrong?" Troy asked as he noticed her laughing fading away.

"Nothing." Evelyn lied.

"You miss your mom?" Troy knew exactly what the reason was. He could tell.

"Yes." She nodded. "A lot."

"Don't worry. She'll be back. I'm here." He grinned proudly. "We'll eventually have fun." He added simply.

"I know. But dad…. I don't think Rachel likes me very much… and I kind a don't like her/" Evelyn admitted biting her lower lip. Honesty was the best way to go. "Or Jessica…Kayla…. or Christy…" She looked down afraid to meet her own father's gaze.

"You don't?" Was all that came out of Troy's mouth. He was half thinking and half spacing off. "Why?" His lips parted slowly.

"She yells a lot. She's not nice. And her kids are mean. They're not fun." Evelyn explained playing with her long blonde locks.

Troy let out a loud exhale.

"You'll learn to all get along. This is just the beginning. Don't worry. Don't let it bother you. It will all work out in the end." Troy explained looking back down at Evelyn.

For a nine-year-old, Evelyn was pretty smart. She knew what exactly her dad meant by "in the end". It meant that she had to be a family—with Rachel…Jessica…. all of them. It didn't sound like something she wanted. And that was what she was afraid of. Complete would be her, her mom, and her dad. Just the idea of being around Rachel's kids gave her the chills. Rachel wasn't so bad, if she didn't yell so much, but who could blame her? Her kids were out of control. It was her daughters that made things worst.

"I miss my friend, dad." Evelyn decided it was time to change the awkward conversation they had gotten themselves caught in. "Rebecca. I don't know where she is. She was my only friend. She got adopted." She paused. "She was the one who told me to leave the place and find you and mom…."

Troy felt horrible again. Every time he looked at her, he could not believe how he missed out on so much. Not only that, but he wanted nothing more than to get the child out of his life. Now he regretted every word he said. Everything. He loved her. She is h is daughter, his adorable little angel. He hoped that Evelyn would forget everything he had said to her before.

"I'm glad she told me too…and made me…I ran into mom w hen I was looking for the address…I just never knew it was her." Evelyn went on. "I expected a different kind of…I don't know. I imagined you and mom…. to—together." She choked out looking directly at the wall, lost in thoughts. "But I guess this is way better than being at that place. I thought I made the wrong choice in the beginning…Seeing as you...and mom… didn't want me…But I guess it turned out alright."

If he could turn time back, he would have. Troy couldn't have felt more terrible. He wanted the best life for Evelyn, but he also knew it would not be easy. The best life for her would be a mom and a dad…together. He was aware of that that was not possible now. He loved someone else. Not Sharpay anymore. Now he saw her as a friend. Nothing more. Nothing less. That was how he wanted to see her as. Whatever else is inside him trying to escape, he was going to ignore it. He and Sharpay were to remain friends. It was the only thing that made things a little easier.

"I'm sorry, honey. Things had been really complicated in the past. Your mom and I went through a lot. Things change. People change. Life isn't always what it may seem. It's unpredictable. Obviously your mom didn't know what to do. It's not your fault. It's our fault. You didn't deserve to go through any of this. You did nothing wrong. I know I can't change what has happened, but I could, I would. Things are really different now." Troy closed his eyes wanting all the worries to just fade away and start fresh. No more endless worries about silly things. He wanted it all to go away.

Unfortunately, everything doesn't always go your way. You can't erase the past. You can try to forget it. But no one ever promise for it to really disappear forever.

"I know. You or mom didn't like me at first." Evelyn yawned crawling deeper under the soft covers.

"You have to understand. I wasn't expecting you. You came as a big shock and I didn't know what to do. I really wasn't thinking of you. Your mom was out of my thoughts—has been for nine years…then you showed up… that caused a stir. But I want you to know, I love you." He softly kissed her forehead.

" I love you too." Evelyn whispered. "Dad, do you love Rachel?" She questioned.

Troy responded with a nod.

"More than me?" She asked.

"No. You're my daughter." He answered.

"Do you love her more than mom?" Evelyn asked with curious eyes.

Troy went blank. That was a complicated question. He couldn't say no because he didn't know what he felt for Sharpay. He knew she was still in his heart, he just didn't know if he was still in love with her. To him it was impossible to suddenly stop loving your first true love, but then again, it was possible in a way. He couldn't say yes because he knew it would most likely hurt his daughter to hear that. He's supposed to love her mom more than anyone else. But this wasn't how things worked in his life. He lived a very twisted life. He knew it.

"I think that's enough questions for the night. Get some rest." Troy stood up, tucking her back in. "Good night honey." He kissed her forehead one more time.

xXx

Okay. Before all of you guys yell at me for taking the longest time in the world to update. I wanna say SORRY.

My reason this time? Umm… Life gets in the way.

But I'm back. That's what counts, right:D

It Happened One Night is next to get updated.

But good news is, I already got the next chapter for this story pretty much figured out. So It should be up soon—not like a month.. You know like soon---umm three or four days? Or maybe even in two days? Hmm… Leave me a review and make me happy. xD