So. Watched HSM2 yesterday. And i wrote another chapter. So yeah. Not really sure what to say so…here's chapter 35? xD
Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical

Chapter Thirty-Five

Compared to the night of the big game, Eddie's Halloween party was pretty low-key. There was still loud music playing and a lot of people around, but it didn't seem anywhere near as crazy. Though it could have been because there were as many things around. There were a couple of games going on, so it seemed like more of an organized mess. Despite the craziness at the Albuquerquian and Chad's recent discovery about Chastity, Chad and Taylor ended up deciding to go to the party. They both figured that they could use a break from everything. And it wasn't even like they had to stay long. But Taylor was sure tonight would go better than last time.

With next to no money and not having enough time, the couple had to get creative with costumes. Taylor threw on her old Decathlon lab coat and wore a pair of glasses, posing as a scientist. Chad…well, Taylor had no idea what he was supposed to be. He was wearing big shoes and mismatched clothing. So far, the popular guess was that Chad was a hobo. As far as their friends went, they were a little more obvious with the costume choices. Eddie was dressed as a rapper and Mary was a belly dancer; apparently the Peanut Butter and Jelly hat idea didn't work out so she had to steal a costume from her cousin.

"I was expecting this to be a little crazier," Mary admitted to them over the music.

"You kidding? This so beats last time," Chad said.

"Says the hobo who doesn't know how to party," Mary rolled her eyes.

"Why does everyone keep getting this wrong? I'm supposed to be a clown," Chad complained.

"Just let it go," Taylor told him. "As long as we don't see Hayden I'm perfectly happy."

"Who's Hayden?" Mary wondered.

"He was a friend," Chad answered, "till he hit on Taylor."

"He also tried to put his hands on me," Taylor reminded him. "I swear if I see that boy I'm out the door."

"I have half a mind to go with you," Mary said. She spotted Eddie walking by and pulled him over. "Dude, what kind of party is this? You don't even have a Limbo game going!"

"Chillax, I'm only one man and I got a budget this year," Eddie replied.

"You couldn't afford a 24-inch ruler for a few rounds of Limbo?" Mary raised an eyebrow.

Eddie looked insulted. "Well I'd like to see you do better," he attempted to recover before walking away.

"Maybe I will," Mary said to herself.

"Can we just skip the drama and have fun tonight?" Chad asked.

"I thought hobos were all about drama," Mary said.

"I'm serious," Chad replied. "It's been a pretty crappy week. It'd be nice to actually have some fun tonight."

"We can make that happen," Taylor promised.

Mary put her hands up. "Whoa, TMI."

"You can always come," Taylor suggested. "We can make it a double date."

"With who? Pikachu?" Mary asked showing them her backpack, which was sporting a onesie. "He's already giving me the silent treatment for putting him in this thing. There's no way he'd last a whole date."

"Not the backpack," Taylor rolled her eyes. She pointed through the crowd to a girl in a Tigress costume. "With her. It looks like she's checking you out."

Mary shook her head. "No offense, but I don't think your gaydar's super effective."

"Fine. Then turn around and look at her, I'll be able to judge from your reaction," Taylor decided.

"Like I'm really gonna fall for that," Mary replied sarcastically.

"But she's grinding up against another girl," Chad pointed out.

Mary raised an eyebrow and briefly glanced in the Tigress' direction. She was dancing right up against another girl and was definitely looking in Mary's direction. Mary froze and turned back to Chad and Taylor.

"So, what do you think?" Taylor asked. "Are you going to talk to her?"

"I…um…uh…. I gotta go!" Mary gasped before making a run for the kitchen.

"Wow," Chad blinked. "When she said she couldn't even look at another girl she wasn't kidding."

"She looks at me just fine," Taylor said.

"That's cause she knows you're straight and taken," Chad said taking her hand and giving her a twirl.

"Oh, so I'm a successful scientist taken by a hobo," she teased.

Chad sighed. "Ok, where is everyone getting hobo from? I'm a clown. I just don't have the face paint."

Taylor draped her arms around his neck and started dancing with him. "So you were a clown that lost your fortune and became a hobo?"

"No, just a clown," Chad said.

"A hobo trying to make a living as a clown?" she inquired.

"Ok now I really can't tell if you're teasing or just plain making fun of me," Chad said.

Taylor really was just teasing him. But after the week that Chad had, maybe she should be a little easier on him. At least let him know she was teasing and it wasn't on purpose.

"Well if you are here with a scientist I guess you can't be that pathetic," she said.

Chad chuckled. "Almost sounded like a compliment."

"In a roundabout way," she nodded. "And I like this on you better than your old Wildcat jersey."

"What's wrong with my jersey?" Chad asked, spinning her under his arm. "You liked it the other night."

"I did," she admitted with a smile, pressing her back to his chest. "But for you to dress as a basketball player would have been too obvious. This is different."

"Well if you want different I could always wear my old baseball uniform," Chad suggested. "I haven't touched that in a while."

"Sounds like we've got a new game," she teased.

"But there's a catch to this new game," Chad said. "It involves your prom dress."

"I thought that was supposed to go with your tuxedo," she said innocently.

"I thought we'd mix it up a bit," Chad replied moving his hands onto her hips. "Besides I need to get a new tux for Troy and Gabs' wedding."

"Oh, so it's only for special occasions," she assumed.

"Guess you could say that," Chad said.

"Funny, I would've though spending time with your girlfriend was always a special occasion," she replied.

Chad was about to respond when Hayden got their attention and walked over.

"Hey man. How's it going?" Hayden greeted.

Way to kill the moment, Taylor thought. This was the last person she wanted to see. She didn't look directly at Hayden but she was sure she saw a drink in his hand. Taylor wondered what number that was. He seemed pretty sober, but that could change pretty quickly. Hopefully, though, this would be the time when Chad would finally give Hayden a piece of his mind. She decided not to say anything and wait for Chad's reaction first.

Chad stopped dancing, but kept his hands on Taylor's hips. "Yo," he greeted though it wasn't his usual greeting. When Chad greeted someone he usually did it with a smile and definitely sounded friendly. This greeting…well, it sounded like a bad version of Taylor holding a grudge. But she gave him points for trying.

"So what are you supposed to be anyway?" Hayden asked Chad. "A hobo?"

Chad groaned. "Why does everyone think I'm a hobo?"

"Well you kinda look like one standing next to Taylor," Hayden replied.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Taylor questioned, though she refused to make eye contact.

"Hey I'm just saying you look good. Am I right?" Hayden replied, holding his free hand up for a high five.

Taylor rolled her eyes and started to walk away. She really didn't want to deal with this now. She had half a mind to walk out the door just like she said she would.

"Hey why do you gotta be like that?" Hayden asked about to reach out to her.

"Dude back off," Chad warned.

When Taylor turned around she saw Chad slap Hayden's hand away. He was already moving so he was standing in front of her and Hayden couldn't get any access. Taylor couldn't help but smile to herself. If only this was how things went last time they were here. But at least she knew for sure this time that Chad always had her back. He was making sure she was protected this time. Taylor loved that feeling around Chad.

"Hey man what's your deal?" Hayden asked.

While Taylor would have let Hayden have it right there, Chad decided to take the simple approach. Taylor assumed it was because Chad didn't want to cause a scene, and she knew he wasn't the type of guy to resort to fighting unless he absolutely had to. Though she doubted it would ever escalate that far.

"Look man, stay away from Taylor ok?" Chad told him.

"Why? You never had a problem with me talking to her before," Hayden replied.

"Well there's a problem now," Chad said.

"What kinda problem?" Hayden questioned.

"Don't bother, Chad. He might already be too drunk to figure it out," Taylor intervened.

"I'm only on my third drink," Hayden said defensively.

"Oh so how many drinks were you on last time? When you tried to touch me? Or do you not even remember that?" she questioned.

"Ok is this your delusional way of coming onto me?" Hayden asked.

Taylor scoffed and rolled her eyes. Like she'd ever waste her time with Hayden.

Chad took it more as a joke. "Very funny, dude."

"Excuse me?" Hayden replied.

"Hey I'm just saying, I'm lucky to have Taylor and we're like 1000 miles apart," Chad stated. "You're more like a million light years away from her."

"I'm not sure, but I think you just insulted me," Hayden said.

"Wow, you do have some sanity left," Taylor said sarcastically.

"Look, do you want me or not?" Hayden asked her.

Taylor shuddered. This was making her sick to her stomach. "Come on Chad, let's get out of here."

"Have fun flying solo, Hayden. Cause I'm done with you," Chad told him.

Taylor glanced behind her and saw Chad following her out. It looked like they were going to get out in one piece, which Taylor was relieved for. But then she heard something behind her. She wasn't sure what at first, but it sounded like a punch. When she turned back around Chad was rubbing his lower lip. Hayden had just smacked Chad right in the face. And what was worse, that was getting the attention of everyone. She didn't even try to figure out if this was the work of alcohol or complete sobriety. Taylor's first instinct was to get right back to Chad's side.

"Are you ok?" she asked him.

"I'm fine," Chad said even though it looked like it hurt him just to talk.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Taylor said. Not that Chad was that bad or anything; there was just a little blood. And it was a good excuse to get away from the commotion. It was just too bad that Hayden didn't see it that way.

"You're not gonna fight me? What are you, chicken?" he questioned.

Some of the crowd was encouraging for a fight to start. Luckily Chad wasn't hearing any of it, which Taylor was thankful for. As if she was really going to let him get involved in a fight. Hayden was about to move in on Chad, probably to hit him again, when Eddie entered the room. The one good thing about being in Eddie's house was that he always knew when something was going on.

"Yo, yo, what's goin on in here?" Eddie questioned.

"Hayden just hit Chad," Taylor answered.

"After you came onto me," Hayden responded.

"In your dreams," she rolled her eyes.

Eddie glanced at Chad and then at Hayden. "You did this?" It did not look like Eddie was having any of it. There were a few things that Taylor knew about Eddie. She knew what he majored in during college. She knew he was a bartender. She knew he tried to be a ladies man. And after tonight, she knew that he wouldn't tolerate fighting. At least not at one of his parties. "Chad, go wash off. Everybody else, out."

Chad made his way through the crowd to get to the bathroom, but everyone else remained in the living room.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "What, do you people need a sign? I said out!"

He yelled it loud enough that time to get people running.

"Yeah, that's right. Party's over! All of you, get outta here!" he insisted.

"Dude you're not serious…" Hayden tried to talk to him.

"Man, do I look unserious to you?" Eddie questioned. He grabbed the drink from Hayden's hand and pointed to the door. "Out. Now."

"But we're bros…" Hayden said.

"Bros don't fight bros," Eddie answered.

Hayden pointed to Taylor. "How come she gets to stay? She started this."

That was definitely an insult to Taylor. If anything she wanted to avoid this. She had no idea what kind of guy Hayden was when Chad first met him, but clearly this was someone completely different. And Taylor was not about to let him badmouth her, let alone get away with hitting Chad. She was about to give him a piece of her mind when Eddie stepped in. He put his arm in front of her so she couldn't take a step closer to Hayden.

"Don't matter who started it. It's my party and you janked it up. Ain't no one gonna jank up my parties," Eddie said.

"Dude…" Hayden started.

"BAH!"

Yup. Eddie went there. He actually screamed in Hayden's face. It wasn't exactly the method Taylor would have chosen, but it got Hayden to leave. She wasn't going to argue with the results. The living room was now nearly empty, leaving on her, Eddie and Mary.

"Does this mean the party's over?" Mary asked.

"Yeah, the party's dead," Eddie sighed. "Now you get outta here, too. Get home before it gets uglier."

"Wait…like…leave?" Mary stammered. "With the hot girls outside in the sexy costumes?"

Eddie sighed. "Fine, you can hide out in the kitchen for ten minutes but then you're outta here."

Mary sighed with relief and went into the kitchen. Eddie was about to head upstairs when Taylor stopped him.

"Hey…thanks. For breaking that up," she said. Taylor wasn't used to saying something sincere to Eddie. It wasn't that they didn't get along. They did. They just showed it with the playful banter. So for Taylor to see Eddie in some kind of protective mode was all new to her. When Chad told her that even Eddie would step in and help her if she needed it, he wasn't kidding.

"Don't mention it. A brother's gotta do what a brother's gotta do," Eddie shrugged his shoulders.

"Even if it means snapping at Hayden like that?" Taylor wondered. "I thought you two were friends."

"Yeah. So?" Eddie asked.

"So why were you sticking up for me like that?" Taylor wondered.

"Cause Chad's a bro. And when I met him, he was pretty ok. But when you came around he's a totally different dude. A good different. Ain't no one gonna mess that up. They got a problem with you or Chad, they got a problem with me," Eddie explained.

Taylor really didn't know what else to say. But she knew she had a lot more people looking out for her than she thought. A few months ago she would have thought of Eddie as…well, she wasn't sure what, exactly. He was a friend of Chad's but he could also be a little out there. Like a goofy sidekick but not so goofy. But after tonight, Taylor was really glad to consider him another friend. Sure, she teased Chad about some of the choices he made. But there'd be no need to tease him about his friends anymore. If he could pick two out of three good people, then he was in good hands. And so was Taylor.

"Thank you," she finally said.

"Don't mention it," Eddie brushed it off. Then he lowered his voice, "Seriously don't mention it. I got a reputation around here."

"As a sparkling vampire?" Taylor joked. Hey, she didn't say this was going to change their bantering.

"Sure. Whatever you say, Mrs. Chad," Eddie chuckled. "You better go check on him. I'll make sure Mary gets outta here in one piece."

Taylor nodded and made her way to the bathroom. It took a couple of tries to find the right room, but she eventually found Chad sitting on the toilet with a wet tissue pressed against his lip. Taylor walked into the bathroom and grabbed a few more wet tissues for him.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"As long as it doesn't affect my kissing, I'll be fine," Chad said jokingly.

"I'll be the judge of that," Taylor said. She sat on his lap and switched the bloody tissue with one of the fresh ones. Chad flinched and Taylor pulled her hand back for a moment before lightly pressing it against the sore again.

"So much for having fun tonight," Chad sighed.

"It's not your fault," she said. "It's mine for causing the fight in the first place."

"You were just trying to get outta here. It was Hayden pushing his luck," Chad said.

"Well regardless of whose fault it was, he should have never hit you," she replied.

"Better he got his hands on my than on you," Chad told her.

"Yeah but all he tried to do was grab my wrist or something," Taylor sighed. "He fricking punched you in the mouth."

"Still beats him touching you," Chad said. "He's not still out there is he?"

Taylor shook her head. "Eddie made everyone leave. He even told Hayden off."

"He did that for you," Chad said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"He did, actually," Taylor admitted. "Eddie's a good guy."

"Says the woman who questioned my choices in friends," Chad teased.

"Well don't go rubbing it in my face or anything," Taylor rolled her eyes playfully. She removed the tissue, which looked like it stopped the bleeding.

"How does it look, Doctor Taylor?" Chad asked.

Taylor smiled. "I think you'll be fine."

"So I'll live to kiss another day?" he asked hopefully.

"Most definitely," she nodded.

"Think I'll kiss any worse?" he wondered.

Taylor thought for a moment, then pressed her lips to his in a soft, gentle kiss as to not hurt him. It didn't need to turn into a heated make out session; it just needed to be something short and sweet. When Taylor pulled away she smiled at him.

"Not at all."

I think i'm starting to get to the point where i'm 30something chapters ahead of what i'm posting so i'm not going to remember every little thing about what was going on in my head when i was typing a chapter. In retrospect, though, i really can afford to post more than one chapter a week or every other week. Can't say for sure if i'll get a chance to post again this week but depending on my schedule next week i should be able to share something. And i just realized in rereading this chapter that it's almost Halloween in real life, too. We are now legitimately two years ahead of the story and i don't even remember how long ago this year i typed this chapter. o.0 Moving on then. I'd like to thank you guys for still reading the story and sticking around even though my updates can be a little on the cuckoo side. But as long as i have at least one reader i'm going to continue writing. That, and i have to handle my obsession somehow. xD I'm also going to take this chance to respond to the review from last chapter. Brandi asked who Chastity is supposed to be character wise; honestly i'm not entirely sure how to answer that because while she is mentioned a lot she herself isn't going to be in the story that much (as most likely are Chad's other two sisters). But i think the one thing i want to be able to come across from her as a character is that she is supportive of her brother more than anything, which can mean that she's always thinking of him or that she just wants him to be happy and i believe that is something that will come across in her next appearance. So with all that said i think everything is covered this chapter and i'll see you guys next time. :)