Chapter 38

Camouflaged from view, binoculars fixed on the windows of the main lodge, the eyes of revenge watched as the red and white masquerade ball continued to progress late into the night. The party had been going strong for three hours now with everyone appearing to be having a wonderful time. Everyone that is but Marissa.

She, yet again, had suffered another humiliating blow when Taylor and Chad had won the coveted title of best dressed couple, leaving her spirit angry and near broken.

Meanwhile, her enemies had basked in the adoration of their peers like royalty, remaining untouched by anything that spoke of unhappiness or disappointment. But soon…very soon…the two whose joy was a constant slap in the face reminder of Marissa's failure to have what she desired most, would be dealt with, swiftly and with purpose. Tonight Marissa's tears would end and those of Taylor and Chad would finally at long last begin.

With an hour to go before the clock struck midnight, the masquerade ball was still going strong with no signs of stopping.

At present, Zeke, Sharpay, Gabriella and Troy were all on the floor dancing to a slow song, wrapped in a cozy moment of romance. Jason, Marcie, Kelsi and Ryan were off talking to a group of Marcie's friend on the other side of the room, while Chad and Taylor were seated alone at their table, heads together, making plans for their own private little party later, to commomerate what would be the last official night of senior weekend.

"God tonight has been amazing," Taylor sighed, laying her head against Chad's shoulder, as her eyes swept over the dance floor, smiling at the sight of Troy and Brie and Zeke and Sharpay looking equally as happy and in love as they. "No one could have ever made me believe that two days ago my life would be forever altered so completely or the course of our futures so entwined."

"I know," Chad agreed, softly caressing her arm. "So much has happened to all of us in a mere 48 hours that it seems like we're going back home as different people all together."

"We are," Taylor stated, looking up into his eyes seriously. "You've changed my life forever this weekend. Nothing will be the same for either of us ever again from this point forward and I couldn't be happier."

"Same here," Chad replied, kissing her forehead gently. "You and only you are my world now Tay . It's you and me always from here on out."

Smiling, Taylor snuggled in closer, wrapping an arm around his waist, as they watched the slow dance between their friends come to an end and Troy, Gabriella, Zeke and Sharpay began to make their way back to the table.

"So did you two miss us?" Troy asked jokingly, pulling Gabriella's chair out for her to sit down.

"Hell no," Chad laughed.

"Didn't think so."

"I'm thirsty Zeke, can you get me some more punch?" Sharpay purred sweetly, fanning herself.

"I'll go Shar," Taylor offered, sitting up in her chair. "I'm thirsty too."

"Great."

"You want me to go with you?" Chad asked, already missing the warmth of her body next to his.

Taylor shook her head and stood up. "It's okay. I think I can handle it on my own."

"Well hurry back so I don't get too lonely without you," Chad teased, watching her walk away with a sigh.

When Taylor got to the punch fountain she was greeted by a group of girls who all congratulated her again on winning best dressed. She thanked them for their support and then watched as they left in search of their dates for the last bit of dancing before the night was over.

Now standing alone, Taylor was just about to reach for two glasses to fill, when she suddenly felt an arm slide across her waist with familiarity. Smiling, she slowly turned around ready to tease Chad for following her, when she came face-to-face with the last person she expected.

"Brad!" Taylor exclaimed, wide-eyed with shock. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I think I'm saying hello to the hottest girl in the room tonight," the handsome senior replied, a hint of alcohol on his breath.

"Have you been drinking?" Taylor asked, moving herself out of his reach, as she stood staring at him more than a little annoyed. "Because if you have you better not let Coach Bolton or Mrs. Darbus find out."

"Darbus sharmbus," Brad slurred slightly, smiling at his own attempt at being funny. "I didn't come over here to talk about her I came over to talk about you and how amazing you look tonight."

Taylor raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? Well thanks for the compliment, but shouldn't you be off somewhere panting behind Marissa? You know...your date?"

Brad laughed, shaking his head amused. "Taylor, Taylor, Taylor. That's what I've always liked about you. Never the kind of girl who holds back any punches. I can totally see why Chad is so sprung. If I had a smokin number like you on my arm, I wouldn't give Marissa or any of these other girls the time of day either."

"Is there a point you're trying to make?" Taylor asked, growing uncomfortable under his leering gaze, looking over to where Chad and the others were sitting, still seemingly unaware of her odd encounter.

"Actually there is," Brad replied, inching a bit closer. "I think it's a shame that a hottie like you is wasting her time on a guy like Danforth. I mean...you could do so much better."

"Oh you do? How's that?" Taylor questioned defiantly.

"Well for starters...when we get back home, why not let me take you out. Then I can better show you what I mean," Brad stated rather conceitedly.

Taylor couldn't keep herself from laughing. "Look, the only thing you can show me Brad is how fast you can grab a glass of punch and get out of my face."

"Awww Tay...don't be like that, I'm just trying to wise you up so you can see how you're missing out on the finer things in life," Brad stated, reaching out to trace a finger against her necklace provocatively.

Taylor slapped his hand down angrily. "First...don't you ever put your hands on me again. Second, don't call me Tay. Third, if you're considered the finer things in life I'll pass. Now if you don't mind, I've got to get back to my friends and even more importantly, Chad."

"Wow! You're even hotter when your mad," Brad laughed, admiring her fiestiness. "Danforth must really have his hands full keeping a firecracker like you under control, an opportunity I myself wouldn't mind having."

"I'm done here," Taylor snapped putting down the glasses in her hand. "You're talking stupid, wasting my time and I've had enough."

She attempted to move past him without further exchange, but he reached out a hand and took hold of her wrist.

"Wait...I'm not finished talking to you yet," Brad slurred, strangely turned on by her open rejection of his advances. "There's still a few things you and I need to straighten out."

"The only thing you'll be straightening out are your fingers after I break every single one," came a seething voice from behind them.

Startled, both Taylor and Brad turned to see Chad standing there staring at them with outraged eyes. He held out his hand for her to come to his side, which she did without hesitation.

"Now look Danforth...it's not what you think," Brad began explaining with a cocky smile. "I was just telling your girl here how nice she looked tonight."

"No, what you were doing was trying to hit on her when she clearly wants nothing to do with you," Chad replied, putting a protective arm around Taylor. "Or didn't I just overhear you telling her some crap about experiencing the finer things in life, namely you?"

Brad threw up his hands in mock apology. "Okay, okay so you caught me. You can't blame a guy for trying right? I have to give it to you Danforth. Here we all thought Taylor was just a cute little braniac when all the time she was hotness personified. No wonder you gave Marissa the slip and went for yours."

Chad lurched forward like he was about to punch Brad dead in his smug face, but Taylor grabbed his arm in the nick of time.

"Baby don't. He's drunk and so not worth it," she pleaded, not wanting anything to ruin their wonderful night. "Let's just go back to the table and leave this loser to himself."

"Yeah Chad...listen to your girl and go back to your table like a good little boy. I'm sure the last thing you want is to get shown up in front of her or any of your friends," Brad taunted, making no attempts to hide that he was checking Taylor out with his eyes from head to toe.

This alone was enough to set Chad off and he was about to lunge for Brad again, when Mrs. Darbus walked up with an unsmiling look on her face.

"Just what is going on here gentlemen?" She sternly asked, looking at the two young men on the verge of coming to blows. "Are we about to encounter a problem?"

"Ummm...no Mrs. Darbus...everything's fine, Chad and I were just going back to our table," Taylor spoke up nervously.

"Well I think that's a good idea Miss McKessie, considering that you only have about 45 minutes or so left to enjoy the last of this evening's delights."

"Yes ma'am...you're absolutely right," Taylor said, taking Chad's arm, trying to pull him gently away. "My sentiments exactly."

"Glad to hear it," Mrs. Darbus said, looking between the two young men whose eyes were locked in silent combat.

She then wrinkled up her nose with distaste. "Is that alcohol I smell on someone's breath?"

The three seniors just stood there as Mrs. Darbus took a few more sniffs of the air around them to be sure, before focusing her attention on the believed culprit who had suddenly become a little nervous under her radar.

"Bradley have you been drinking tonight?" she questioned, a look of complete displeasure clouding her face.

"Why...ummm...no ma'am," Brad stuttered, as a tiny smile crept across Taylor's lips, glad that he had been caught.

"Don't lie to me young man," Mrs. Darbus irritiably snapped. "I know alcohol when I smell it. I want you to come with me right now. This sort of behavior is totally unacceptable and must be dealt with accordingly."

"But...but..." Brad tried his best to explain but was shut down when their teacher held up a hand to his face.

"Not another word from you mister," she stated, clearly upset and not in the mood to hear some lame excuse for breaking an explicit infraction of the rules. "Taylor. Chad. Please return to your evening. Bradley...come with me."

Glaring over his shoulder furiously, the football team captain reluctantly followed behind Mrs. Darbus, silently vowing payback on others for his own stupid mistake. Marissa saw him being led to the chaperone table and rushed over to find out what had happened. Brad snarled at her to get away from him.

"Everything was going so perfectly and then this had to happen," Taylor said, her voice tinged with disappointment. "What in the world was Brad thinking getting drunk or at the very least tipsy? Did he really think no one was going to eventually catch on?"

"What I want to know is what he was thinking trying to put the moves on you like that?"Chad stated, not the least bit sympathetic that Darbus had busted him for drinking.

"Me too. It was really weird, creepy and totally out of character, considering Brad's never paid me more than a few seconds worth of attention in the past," Taylor mused, a puzzled expression on her face as they reached the table.

"And just what the heck was that all about?" Troy instantly pounced, as Chad sat down in the chair beside him. "Brad the Cad up to his old tricks again?"

"Yeah Tay, if I didn't know any better I swear it looked like he was coming on to you when Chad walked up," Gabriella stated.

"Oh it definitely looked that way to me too," Sharpay chimed in, eagerly awaiting all the gory details. "And did you see the way he practically ripped Marissa's head off when he was being escorted away by Mrs. Darbus? I really want to know what that was all about?"

"Look guys it isn't all that deep," Taylor declared, not wanting the last precious moments of their awesome evening preoccupied with talk about people she truly could care less about. "Brad was drunk, made some stupid comments to me, and then got busted when alcohol was detected on his breath. End of story."

"Well he must have been making some pretty heavy coments the way Chad charged over there," Troy noted, remembering the fury he'd seen in his friend's eyes.

"As long as it's all over and we can get back to our good time I don't care what that idiot had to say," Taylor stated, grabbing Gabriella's hand. "Come on Brie, let's go dance. You too Shar."

"Hey! What about us?" Chad asked, throwing up his hands along with Troy and Zeke.

"You know where to find us!" Gabriella smiled back at the table, as the three of them stepped out onto the dance floor and started getting their groove back on again.

It was a quarter to midnight, when Principal Matthews stepped up on stage after an evening of annonymity, taking hold of the microphone, and signaling for everyone's attention.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, it looks as if our evening and weekend are both slowly coming to an end. I can't tell you enough how proud I've been of each and every one of you and the way you've conducted yourselves these past two days in what has to be one of the most amazing places I've ever been too."

Shouts, cheers and applause rang out among the crowd.

"In all my years as principal at East High, I can honestly say that this was and is by and far, the best senior weekend I've ever attended. You all should feel very very lucky to have been given this wonderful opportunity and to have experienced things that some people never do in a lifetime. As you know, tomorrow we will be departing for home at 2:00 p.m. Please make sure that you have your bags packed and outside your front doors no later than 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning so that they can be picked up by resort staff and taken to the buses. Double check your rooms before you leave to ensure that you are bringing back everything you arrived with. There will be a farewell brunch beginning at 11:30 a.m., after which time we will proceed with boarding in the same exact grouping that you were assigned when we left on Friday. And with that senior class of 2008, I ask that you all come out onto the floor now and enjoy the very last dance of this marvelous evening."

Again came the applause and cheers as anyone who hadn't already been dancing when the annoncement came, rushed from their seats to have one final hurrah.

"Let's do this people!" Troy shouted, taking Gabriella by the hand, spinning her around, and then dipping her nearly to the floor, as Chad, Taylor, Ryan, Kelsi, Jason, Marcie, Zeke and Sharpay all gathered around and gave the last dance of the night their all.

12:15 a.m.

"Wow! I still can't believe this night is over," Gabriella gushed, as the girls entered their lodge and turned on the lights. "I feel like I could keep dancing until the sun comes up."

"Me too," Kelsi sighed, taking a seat on the couch, a smile of total bliss across her pretty face. "Everything was simply perfect."

"Yes it was Kel," Taylor agreed, placing her roses on the kitchen counter, then slipping off her sandals before dropping into a chair. "In fact, I wish this entire weekend could go on forever."

"I told you it was going to be a legendary time," Sharpay said proudly, laying her bouquet right next to Taylor's along with her plague of appreciation. "Zeke was so right when he said there are going to be many a person mad hating on us come Monday after we tell them what a fantastic time we had and how this was the best senior weekend trip ever."

"Yes Shar you did tell us and for once I have no problem admitting you were right," Gabriella teased, starting to take her hair down until it fell around her shoulders. "Just don't let it go to your head okay?"

"Of course it's going to my head Brie," Sharpay teased back. "Just like that beautiful plague of mine is going in the first floor showcase for all to see and know that Sharpay Evans is the queen of the senior weekend."

"Oh goodness! Do I hear the sound of contruction come Tuesday morning on that statute to be placed on the front lawn in this girl's image?" Taylor joked, shaking her head.

"No rush. They can get started on Wednesday instead," Sharpay joked, making all of them laugh.

Kelsi stiffled a yawn. "Well I don't know about the rest of you but as great as tonight was in every way, I have to say I'm pretty tired and think I'll turn in."

"I have to admit I agree with you there," Gabriella said, feeling the last of her adrenaline starting to fade. "I'm going to take a quick shower and then hit the sheets."

"Yes, as glorious as we all are feeling right now, like we could go on all night, we'll be nothing nice come morning when we have to pack and be out of here if we're only functioning on a few hours sleep," Sharpay conceded, reaching behind her back to unzip her dress.

Taylor nodded at all of her friend's words, while in the back of her mind she was wondering how quickly she could change her clothes and slip out unnoticed to meet up with Chad as planned.