Unlove You
Disclaimer: See Prologue.
Chapter 35: Helloooo, Baby! part 1
Troy is awakened by a sharp inhale and a gasp from Sharpay.
"Shar", he asks with sleepy concern, "You okay?"
Silence.
"Shar? You're scaring me. Are you okay?", Troy asks anxiously, now that he's fully awake.
"I'm fine", she gasps out.
"You don't sound fine. Is ... is it time?"
"Of course not", she replies, much more relaxed, "I've still got two weeks, at least; the doctor said so. My last appointment was only two days ago and nothing was happening then. It was just my damn back, okay?" She heaves herself out of bed and announces, "See it's already better. I told you it was nothing."
"Want me to massage it for you?", Troy suggests huskily.
"Like that's gonna happen", she says sarcastically. "I think a hot shower would help me more." Sharpay pulls on her robe and starts towards the door; then, she stops and looks back at him. "Want to join me?"
"No", Troy whines in his little boy voice, "And don't worry about running out all the hot water, I'll be taking a cold shower, anyway."
Sharpay comes back to the bed and says in her little girl voice, "Oh, the poor baby. He's feeling neglected because he's not getting enough nummies."
"It's not funny", Troy pouts, "I mean I knew about the six weeks after, but no one told me about the four weeks before."
"Troy Bolton, you selfish SOB! You think I like this anymore than you do", Sharpay rants as she defiantly puts her hands on her hips. "I'm the one who's the beached whale here, remember? And besides, before we got together, you had gone seventeen years without any, so what's ten or twelve weeks, compared to that?"
"Twelve?", Troy asks nervously, "That's three months. Who said anything about three months?" The pitch of his voice is getting higher and higher as he talks.
"Aaah!", Sharpay groans out her answer, as her hand flies to her lower back.
"Is that all you have to say?", Troy asks before actually looking at her. When she doesn't respond he looks up and notices the pained expression on her face. "Shar? What's happening? Talk to me."
"Back", she grunts out as she tries to sit back down on the edge of the bed.
Troy automatically moves behind her and starts kneading the tight muscles in her lower back. Sharpay groans out when he hits just the right spot.
"God, you're good at this. You sure you want to play basketball for a living? Because I think you'd make one heck of a masseur. Ooooo, magic fingers..."
"Damn it, Sharpay, if you don't stop groaning like that, I'm gonna be forced to jump you", Troy whispers into her ear.
Sharpay pulls away from him and stands up as quickly and she can. "That's good. You fixed it. Thanks", she snaps out in a quick, clipped voice. "Um...I've got to get in the shower now or we're never going to make it to the studio in time."
Troy sighs dramatically and flops back down on the bed. "I don't know why you even care so much anyway. That jerk, Mr. Langford, is never going to let you compete on the team."
"I'm doing it for Gabriella. We've been practicing together for almost a full month. I can't let her down. You know I'm really surprised at just how nice she is, now that I've gotten to know her. I can, almost, understand what you saw in her", Sharpay comments casually, but her eyes are watching Troy intently. When he says nothing, she continues with, "Cue! Bolton. That's your cue."
"My what?"
"I just said that I like your ex-girlfriend and that I understand how you could have been drawn to her. That's your cue to say, 'Gabi may be nice, but she's nothing compared to you, Shar. You're the love of my life.'"
"Well, you are", Troy agrees.
"I know that, but sometimes, a girl would like to hear it, okay?"
"But you just did hear it, didn't you?", Troy says, idiotically.
"It doesn't count if I'm the one who's saying it!" With that, she turns and stomps out of the room in a huff.
"I have a feeling this is going to be a long day", Troy groans as he pulls the pillow over his head so he can scream into it --- a very manly scream, of course.
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Troy and Sharpay arrive at the local television station with little time to spare; but since Sharpay isn't on the panel, it's not that important. As they enter the studio where The Knowledge Bowl is filmed, Taylor runs up to them in a panic.
"Sharpay! Troy! Have either of you seen Gabriella?", she asks frantically.
"No, Taylor. What's going on?", Sharpay asks as she casts a worried glance to Troy.
"She's not here yet and Mr. Langford is about to have a cow."
"Well, I'm sure ...", Sharpay starts before they are interrupted by the girl in question rushing into the studio in a harried state.
She goes directly to Mr. Langford and starts motioning wildly. Mr. Langford gets a troubled expression on his face and motions for Taylor to join them.
"Looks like we have a big problem, Taylor", Mr. Langford announces. "Gabriella has laryngitis; we're going to have to forfeit the match."
"But what about Sharpay?", Taylor asks him.
"That's out of the question. We'll forfeit; I'll go inform LaCueva's sponsor."
"No! Don't do it, Mr. Langford. Sharpay is Gabriella's alternate. You said so yourself; she's done everything you've asked and not complained at all. And if the truth be told, she's been tutoring Gabriella for the last month. Let her do this. She deserves it", Taylor pleads.
"She presents a bad image for our school", Mr. Langford says harshly. "Surely, you can see that."
"What I see is that you're going to throw this match because of some outdated view of teen sexuality. Teenagers have been having sex and getting pregnant for hundreds, thousands of years and ignoring it isn't going to make it go away."
"I don't want to reward bad behavior, Miss McKessie."
"I'm not asking you to give her a medal for getting knocked-up, Mr. Langford. I'm asking you to allow her to compete on a team to which she has earned to right to be a member!", Taylor says passionately. "And if you don't ... I really don't think there will be a team to compete next month. We'll all walk."
"Are you threatening me, Miss McKessie?"
"No, sir. I'm just giving you a few home truths, is all."
He takes a deep breath and glances over at Sharpay who is sitting on the first row in the audience with Troy. They are both watching him intently, but are too far away to have heard anything.
"Okay, but understand this... She'll be seated when we go on the air and she will not rise at all while the camera is rolling."
"Agreed", Taylor says with a big smile on her face.
Mr. Langford stomps off to inform the opposing team of the change in line-up. Then, Taylor turns to Gabriella and drags her off to the ladies room. Gabriella emits a little squeak, but doesn't say anything. Once Taylor has checked the stall to ensure that they are alone, she looks at Gabriella with a serious expression on her face.
"Alright Gabriella, I'm about to attempt my most difficult challenge in my high school career."
Gabriella looks at her with a puzzled look.
"I'm about to try to convince a girl who is, like, twenty months pregnant to sit in front of a live audience and help win a competition for a school of which truly half of the student body hates her."
Gabriella nods in agreement.
"So I have to know. Is this on the up and up? Are you really and truly sick?", Taylor asks sincerely.
"Oh absolutely", Gabriella says and then, clamps her hand over her mouth when she realizes that she said something.
A huge grin comes over Taylor's face and she pulls Gabriella into a hug. "That's what I thought."
They both leave the restroom and walk slowly over to where Troy and Sharpay are still sitting.
"Hi, guys. Are you ready? They're about to start; you two better get up there", Sharpay says cheerfully as she, at the same time, shifts in her seat to try and find a more comfortable position.
"There's a problem, Shar", Taylor starts, but is interrupted by Mr. Langford who walks over with his brows knitted in worry.
He is speaking rapidly when he says in a clipped voice, "Okay, I've talked to the LaCueva sponsor and the show's producer and they've agreed to the substitution on the following conditions: first, that she is seated before the show goes on the air and second, she stays seated as long as the camera is rolling. Is that understood, Miss Evans?"
"I don't know what you're talking about", Sharpay replies confusedly.
"What?! What have you been doing, Miss McKessie, chatting about the weather?", Mr. Langford asks as he redirects his anger towards Taylor.
"We just walked up, sir. I haven't had a chance to explain the situation to her."
"Well, then, allow me", Mr. Langford says with a sweeping gesture of his arm. "Miss Montez is incapacitated; therefore, Miss Evans, as her alternate, you will be replacing her for this meet."
"Me?", Sharpay asks in a high-pitched, nervous tone.
"Yeeesss, you", Mr. Langford answers her back, imitating her voice.
"We really need you, Sharpay", Taylor steps forward to convince her friend, "Gabriella has laryngitis; she can't talk. Without your help, we'll have to forfeit the match. ... Please?"
"Well, I ...", Sharpay starts, but is interrupted.
At that point a short, balding man wearing a headset runs onto the middle of the set and shouts out, "Five minutes, people! All contestants should take their seats now!"
"Sharpay ... ", Taylor pleads.
Gabriella pleads with her eyes.
"Go for it, Shar. Show them what your made of", Troy encourages.
"Well?", Mr. Langford says in his own uniquely boring voice.
"Okay, I'll do it", Sharpay finally announces. Then, she tries to rise from her seat, but flops right back down. "Sorry, low seats."
Troy hops up and helps pull her up.
"By all that's holy ...", Mr. Langford mumbles as he walks away.
After all the contestants are seated and the show is about to go on the air, Troy gives her a quick hug and says encouragingly, "Break a leg!" Then, he runs back to his seat.
"Oh no", Sharpay moans.
"What's wrong? You aren't in labor, are you?", Martha asks.
"No, of course not. It's just, he said, 'Break a leg'. That's only for theater, anywhere else, it's considered bad luck."
"Well", Taylor says as she adjusts her microphone, "I don't believe in luck. We're going to win because of our knowledge and hard work."
"I hope you're right", Sharpay says and then, groans again. She bites her bottom lip to stifle a gasp. She's just experience the worst pain of her life radiating from the front of her belly to her lower back. This is definitely not her normal backache and this is definitely not a good sign.
"Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, and welcome to the 34th year of The Knowledge Bowl. Today we have East High School versus LaCueva High School. Representing East High is ..."
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Forty-five minutes into the one and a half hour meet, East High is leading LaCueva by fifty points. Sharpay has answered every mathematics question perfectly. In fact the entire team is doing well and each one is pulling his own weight. They have a five minute break now at the mid-way point and Troy runs up to Sharpay as soon as the producer announces they're no longer on the air.
He comes up behind her and gives her a big hug as he says encouragingly, "Shar, you're doing great."
As soon as he touches her stomach, he knows something's wrong. "My God, Sharpay, you're hard as a rock." Then, he looks up at her face and sees her eyes squeezed shut and her face ashen. "Oh no, you're in labor, aren't you?"
Taylor, who is the only other person still sitting at the desk, exclaims loudly, "She's what?"
"Sssshh!", Sharpay hisses, "I'm fine. My back always hurts. I've told you about that, Taylor. This is no different."
"Your stomach isn't normally as hard as steel and you don't usually look like you're about to throw up, Sharpay", Troy whispers back at her.
Sharpay takes a deep breath and meets Troy's eyes. "Look ... maybe, and just maybe, mind you, this is early labor. If that's what this is, then it could take hours before it becomes active labor and then, hours more after that before the baby's born. Even if we went to the hospital right now, they'd probably just send me home. At least this gives me something else to concentrate on, okay?"
"I don't like it", Troy grumbles.
"Me, either", Taylor agrees.
"Good. Well, now that that's settled, will one of you help me up so I can go to the bathroom before this thing starts up again?", Sharpay announces to an exasperated Troy and Taylor, who both dutifully take an arm and help her rise.
"I'll let you know if it becomes too much; I promise", Sharpay tells Troy as she settles back down after returning from the ladies room.
"Good and I'll be watching you closely."
"And in 5, 4, ... cue lights, cue camera, ... rolling!"
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Jack Bolton is lazily lying on the sofa with the television remote control in his hand. He is avidly pursuing the most treasured Saturday afternoon hobby for American males --- the art of watching twenty different television programs simultaneously by spending no more than ten seconds on any one channel at any one time. Lisa is in the kitchen cleaning up from their lunch and trying to avoid the headache she always gets when she tries to watch TV with her husband.
His finger slips and he accidentally punches in the numbers for the Albuquerque Public School channel. This is a channel he would never willing watch on purpose and they're his employers. Jack stops long enough to realize that it's East High's academia team on the screen.
"Hey, Lis'. Come take a look at this. It's the scholastic decathlon meet and Sharpay's on the panel, but I don't see Gabriella."
"I'll be there in a sec", she calls from the other room.
"Does she look funny to you?", Jack questions when his wife enters the room.
Lisa is still drying her hands on a dish towel as she walks up to the television. She looks up at the screen and exclaims loudly, "Holy shit, Jack! Get the car! She's in labor!"
"Lisa Ann Bolton!", Jack chastises his wife's vulgar language.
"Oh hell, Jack. I'll put two quarters in the damn Jar ... three quarters in the ... Jar when we get back. Right now, we need to get to that studio!"
Before Jack Bolton took his current job as Physical Education instructor and basketball coach at East High School, he was an assistant coach in the NBA. This required frequent moves for him and Lisa and, apparently, the frequent use of four letter words. After Troy was born, the family settled down in Albuquerque, which was both his and Lisa's hometown, and he found the job at East High. The one thing that didn't change was Jack's bad language.
When Troy was eighteen months old, he said his first complete sentence, 'Damn doggie, you go out!' After Lisa Bolton, dutifully wrote down this phrase in Troy's baby book, after all it was his first sentence, she invented the Swear Jar.
For every profane word uttered in the house, the offender would be required to put a quarter in the Swear Jar. The first year that the Jar was in operation, that money funded the family's entire summer vacation. Fortunately, as the years continued, deposits to the jar became less and less. This is the first time since its inception that Lisa has ever been the offender.
Lisa and Jack arrive at the studio in record time and rush in, fully expecting mass turmoil with at least one person running around trying to boil water. Instead, they find a quiet audience watching equally quiet contestants answer mind-boggling questions for no other reason than to know they can.
They quickly find Troy and sit down on either side of him. He is obviously surprised to see them, but before he can say anything, Lisa leans over and whispers to Troy, "How long has she been in labor, Troy?"
"What!?", he whispers back, "How'd you know?"
"Just answer the question."
"I don't know. I noticed it about thirty minutes ago, but I think it's been going on for much longer. Sharpay refuses to leave though. She says she'll know when it's time", Troy whispers out the side of his mouth while continuing to watch Sharpay.
"I hope she'll be alright. She doesn't look good", Lisa comments as she directs her attention to the panel.
Troy checks the time on the large count-down clock.
"There's only fifteen more minutes left. I think she'll make it."
"I hope your right."
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At the East High table Sharpay emits a low moan and Taylor snaps her head over immediately. Luckily, it's during a commercial break.
"That's less than five minutes since the last one, Sharpay. I think we should tell someone."
"N...no", she responds through gritted teeth, "I'm NOT quitting. That's just what he wants." She, of course, is referring to Mr. Langford who has been watching her like a hawk since this second half started. "There ...", she says while relaxing, "it's over. See, I told you I was fine."
"Hey guys?", Martha says as she leans over, "Is there something the rest of us should know about?"
"No!", Sharpay snaps immediately.
"Yes!", Taylor says, overruling her, "Sharpay's in labor."
"What!?", the rest of the panel exclaim simultaneously.
"And we're back from commercial in 5, 4, ..."
And so the final segment of The Knowledge Bowl begins with the camera focused on East High's pride and joy: a worried looking, Taylor McKessie; a falsely smiling, Sharpay Evans; and Martha Cox and Brendan Piefer with identical looks of pure horror on their faces and their mouths hanging wide open for the whole world to see.
The final fifteen minutes go well for both sides and the score is tied as the clock runs out.
"Now for the tie-breaker question. The rules are a little different here. You will have fifteen seconds to discuss the question amongst yourselves and then, one member will give your final answer. First up is LaCueva High and the category is", the moderator announces, dramatically, as he pulls a card from a black box on the podium, "Popular Culture."
Groans are heard from both sides.
"She once described herself as a 'muse and critic' to her brother Gianni. Who is this famous woman? LaCueva?"
And the timer starts ticking as the LaCueva team starts frantically discussing the question.
Ding
"Your answer, please?"
The LaCueva team captain fumbles with the microphone and clears his voice before answering with a nervous, squeaky voice, "Um, Lucretia Borgia?"
"I'm sorry, but that is incorrect. East High? You have fifteen seconds..."
Taylor turns to her team mates to discuss the question and notices that Sharpay's eyes are closed in deep concentration again.
"Oh no, Sharpay?" She doesn't respond. so Taylor directs the question to the other two members, "Does anyone have any idea?"
"I thought it was Borgia, too", Brenden admits.
"Sharpay?...", Taylor pleads.
Her eyes are still screwed shut.
Ding
"East High? Your answer, please?"
Taylor reaches for the microphone and is just about to take a wild guess at the answer, when Sharpay's eyes suddenly snap open and she grabs the microphone from Taylor and announces breathlessly, "Donatella Versace." Then, she takes a deep cleansing breath and adds, "I met her once, nice lady, much shorter than she looks on TV."
"That is ... correct! Congratulations, East High is the winner with a final score of 225 is East High. And please be sure and join us next week when the competing schools will be ..."
The entire team turns to hug Sharpay and in different circumstances would probably have heaved her up on their shoulders for a celebratory parade around the studio.
Mrs. Bolton pushes everyone out to the way to make her way to her defacto daughter's side. She reaches down and takes hold of one of Sharpay's hands as their eyes meet.
"Oh, Mom. I'm so glad you're here. This really ... hurts", Sharpay gasps out as another contraction, (yep, pretty sure that's what they are now), hits her.
"I know it does, baby. We brought your bag; it's in our car. Come on, Sharpay, let's get you to the hospital", Lisa says wisely.
"Excuse me", says a deep formal voice.
Lisa on Sharpay's right side, Troy on Sharpay's left side, and Sharpay herself, all look up to see Mr. Langford standing awkwardly on the other side of the table.
"I ... just wanted to say thank you, Miss Evans. You're a real team player and you did great."
"Um, you're welcome, Mr. Langford."
"I must admit I was worried for you. A couple of times I thought I was going to have to call the match, but I'm glad you got to stay and finish it. And I look forward to your return to school in six or eight weeks or so", Mr. Langford says knowingly.
A genuine smile comes over Sharpay and she offers him her hand, which he graciously accepts.
"Thank you, Mr. Langford. And don't worry; I will be back. I'm not a quitter."
"I believe you, Sharpay", Mr. Langford says sincerely and using her given name for the first time.
Jack Bolton runs onto the stage and announces excitedly, "Okay, I've pulled the car around to the front, so let's go have us a baby!"
The three Boltons pack Sharpay into the car and zoom off for the hospital. The rest of the decathlon team are still standing on the sidewalk. Now that excitement is over, they aren't sure what to do. Just then, Chad drives up and hops out of his car.
"Hey, Taylor. Sorry I'm a little late, but my car had a flat", Chad says meekly since he missed his girlfriend's entire competition. He walks up to give her a hug and Taylor jumps violently away from him. "Whoa", Chad responds indignantly, "who got your panties in a wad?"
She looks at him with fire in her eyes. "I've just spent the last hour watching a friend of mine in unbearable pain."
"What?"
"Sharpay's in labor. The Boltons and Troy just took her to the hospital."
"Ohhh ... but what does that have to do with me?", Chad asks with a confused expression on his face.
"She was in some serious pain, Chad. And it was caused by your best buddy, Troy."
"Ohhh ... so now all men are the enemy."
"You got it, but I'm not sure the two of you qualify as men."
TBC
Start date: Saturday, October 28, 2006 (38 weeks)
Okay, this was taking too long and I really wanted to post before I leave Friday afternoon for camping with the girl scouts (Yippee). It really is going to be fun, but I'm going to miss the dance-along on Saturday night. Think of me when you're sitting in your cozy air conditioned house watching Troy's gorgeous blue eyes. Think of me, sleeping on the hard ground with no flush toilets and no potable water. Ugh! And ... and no Internet.
Anyway, I recently read in Stessa's Naturalized Love story (wonderful story, BTW; great idea for a plot, LOL). She said she wouldn't put us through the whole birth thing and just went straight from water breaking at the end of one chapter to holding baby at the beginning of the next. Well ... no such luck with me. I've read account after account of all these birth stories on the Internet plus when I was 16, my mom's friend owned this maternity shop and somehow got me a job there --- worst summer of my life. Every blasted day that woman (the owner) would recount her birthing story to anyone who would listen ... Made me want to scream. But I learned a very important lesson that summer ... never, ever ask a woman when she's due unless you are ABSOLUTELY positive that she is the one who's pregnant. Embarrassed myself many times with that one.
My, but I'm rambling ... so look forward in the next chapter to every single clique, every thing you've ever heard happen or thought couldn't happen because I'm going to try and cover it all.
Oh and before anyone asks, 38 weeks is still considered full term, so don't worry about the baby being early.
A/N: I want to thank 'the road of damascus' for her review of my Why story. She's the one who suggested a pouty Troy who's mad about not getting enough nummies (Sharpay's word, not mine). That's pretty good, isn't it? A suggestion for a second story while writing an absolutely fabulous review for another.
A/N 2: Versace is, of course, the famous Italian clothing designer and the Borgias were the INfamous Italian poisoners / murderers / weirdos from the 16 or 17th century.
A/N 3: I just felt like I should have some closure with Mr. Langford and try to redeem him. In this chapter, I like to think of Mr. Langford sort of being like Snape in the first Harry Potter book. During the Quiddich match when Hermione thinks he's trying to hex Harry when he was really trying to protect him.