Hi darlings!! Sorry for taking so long to update, but I'm back to my hometown and I don't have Internet here (poor me!!) so updates will be taking a while…

Thanks to my dearest reviewers: jenpen1027, talkstoangels77, Dramione x3, digigirl02, KiNoMoTo18 and anothersmallperson. Also, thanks to everyone who added this to their favorite story/ alert list.

HSM belongs to Disney. And just one last warning: beware of the Ryella!! And, sorry for all the Troyella-thing going on. I seriously don't know how I managed to write this pairing…


Chapter 54

Revenge?

"So, what's the matter?"

To everyone else, Derby Evans might have looked perfectly happy, just enjoying her husband's company. However, Vance Evans knew her as the back of his hand and could tell right away that she was mad at something.

"You know Vance, when we married you told me that you could never love another woman more than me. Nowadays, I realize that's not very accurate"

She had always been that bold. Derby was never afraid to speak her mind and Vance had learned that the hard way. And yet that was exactly what had made him fall in love with her; because, unlike any other woman he met before his wife, his Derby was very sincere.

And, in a world full of appearances, he really appreciated that.

"I see… So, this has something to do with Sharpay" any other man would have freaked out with her words, but Mr. Evans knew her well enough to almost 'read' her mind.

He still didn't know why was she so angry.

"You're spoiling her rotten, Vance! She should understand that she can't toy with people's lives like that!" the woman exclaimed, feeling angry and her husband couldn't help to chuckle "How can you be so calm?!"

"Derbs, I'm quite sure my princess has already told you she has a plan. A plan that involves helping her brother"

"We both know that's not her objective" the female argued, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You need to have more faith on her, love. She's not that spoiled" he hugged her and kissed her forehead "I really believe she's trying to help him"

"And if not?"

"Well… We'll see. For now, let's play along and see how this develops"

"But Vance…!"

"Hush" he placed his index finger over her mouth and smiled kindly "we'll see. Perhaps, if this ends as badly as you seem to think, I'll let you discipline her a little"

"Oh, how considerate of you…"

He laughed and kissed her very lightly "Chill, Derbs. Everything shall work out for the best"


Ryan was not the kind of man who gave things too much thought. He was a very emotion-driven man; he did whatever he felt was right. However, that night, he was thinking a lot. The main reason being he wanted to block out his father's and Peter's comments about Troy.

He seriously thought Troy was a nice guy and an amazing basketball player. What he disliked was how… father-like his father was acting with him. It was driving him nuts!

His mother, sitting next to him, held his hand during the whole meal. And it did comfort him a bit, but not as much as he would have wanted. Luckily, by the time his own mother start playing whatever crazy game Sharpay was playing, his mind was far far away.

Well, maybe not. His gaze was fixed somewhere between his father and Peter but his mind was set on the lovely brunette who was playing the piano. It must have been hard on her playing that music that wasn't really her style, but Ryan thought she was doing it pretty well. He smiled at the thought; for the oddest of the reasons, thinking about Kelsi always made him smile.

At some point of the conversation he heard Troy trying to leave, his sister's protests and him promising he would sing with her… someday. He didn't like the sound of that, though. Something wasn't quite right about it. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but he knew…

And then, from the corner of his eye, he caught Kelsi yawning and again, he smiled. And just like that, all his worries seemed to banish.

Later, he would think that he shouldn't let himself get distracted so easily…


Later that night, while Sharpay lay on her bed, summing up the events of the day, she realized she was really messed up. At some point of that morning, she had lost sight of the real objective and had let herself been pulled into this crazy 'fight' to get Troy. She truly disliked Gabriella, but fighting with her over a boy? Honestly, how pathetic and desperate did she need to be?

Still, she decided that getting Troy wouldn't be that bad. He was sweet and polite and she was pretty sure her father would approve. As the matter of the fact, he would love that she hooked up with Troy. So maybe…

What am I thinking? This wasn't what I was planning…

No, it wasn't. Yet, plans can change, right? Arrangements could be made. And maybe, the best she could do right now…

What about Ryan?

He needed to learn to take care of himself. Every since they had been children, they had always relied in each other. Maybe it was time for them to… grow up, be themselves, find their own friends and solve their own problems. They couldn't be together for the rest of their lives, after all! One day he would marry and so would she and they might end up living in different cities or countries or…

Wow. That's a long and pitiful excuse.

Oh, so now it reappeared! Her damn conscience was never there when she needed it but when she didn't… Well, forget it. She would do what she believed was the best. Not only for her, but for her younger brother.

Or so she thought.


"Fulton!"

"Yes, Ms. Evans!" the older man looked at her, worriedly. She seemed to be happy and everyone knew that was the worst mood that Sharpay could be; because in order for her to be happy, someone else was suffering… a lot.

"Get Troy and tell him he's being promoted"

"Pro-promoted? When? How? What?!" he couldn't believe it! Mr. Bolton was a nice energetic boy, but surely, he hadn't done anything that made him deserve that promotion. Here in Lava Springs, promotions were earned through long years of hard work and punctuality and…

"Just do as I say, Fulton. My mother approves, by the way. So, no need to ask her" she glared and Fulton gulped. He really believed the older Evans' heir was too spoiled for her own sake. However, his job was to do as the Evans wanted, so he nodded his head.

"As you wish, Ms. Evans"


"A promotion?!"

"Yes, Mrs. Evans herself approved, apparently"

Ryan couldn't believe it. Why was his mother taking Sharpay's side? Didn't she see the girl's evil intentions? Honestly, that was a bit too much!

"But promotions are supposed to be earned with hard work and not with… good looks! I mean, what's mother thinking? Promote Troy because Sharpay wants to get to him…!"

"Mr. Evans, please relax. I'm sure the ladies know very well what they are doing"

Ryan arched his eyebrows "You seriously don't believe that, do you Mr. Fulton?"

The older sighed "It's not a matter of what I believe or not, Mr. Evans. It's a matter of keeping my job or not"


"Mother!"

"Ducky! What's wrong, sweetie?" Ryan had stormed inside his mother office just to find her happily sitting over the table while his father sit on the chair, going through a bunch of papers.

"Why? Why are you letting Sharpay have her way?"

"Oh, duckie, you're over reacting. Your sister merely wants to help a friend…"

"She wants to get in his pants, which is quite different!" he exclaimed and covered his mouth immediately, realizing a second too late, that he had crossed the line. Mrs. Evans gasped "I mean… I… I'm sorry…"

His father only looked over the papers and arched his eyebrows lightly "Your sister is at the pool. If you want to apologize, apologize to her"


He didn't regret what he had said; it was the truth, after all. Nevertheless, he recognized he had chosen the wrong words to voice his thoughts. He sighed and plopped on a chair next to Sharpay's friends. Lea, Jackie and Emma eyed him curiously but said nothing. Sharpay didn't even look at him.

"So, I'll take that as you have already talked to our parents"

"It's just wrong, Shar"

"Oh, come on Ryan. Loosen up a bit! You said it could be fun to watch, didn't you?" she said, with a sarcastic smile.

"This is over the top, sis" he stressed the last word, while he put on his sunglasses to prevent his twin from seeing just how bad he was feeling "You're not playing fair"

"But all is fair in love and war, Ryan dear" she argued, standing up with the biggest smirk ever.

Ryan rolled his eyes and took a glass with juice and a book, choosing to simply ignore her, which pissed her off a little. Just then, poor unfortunate Gabriella walked by. Perfect.

"Oh, by the way the pool has never looked better" she said, sarcasm dripping from every word. She let out a silly giggle "Bravo!" she clapped while beginning to walk away. Then, she stopped at her friends' side "Wish me luck girls!"

Ryan ignored his sister but couldn't ignore the rather depressed Gabriella. He guessed she had already found about her boyfriend's promotion and while she might have been a bit pleased, she also knew there was something fishy behind it.

She walked away and he kept watching her as she sat down in the lifeguard's chair. Well, perhaps it was the perfect time to start 'bonding'!


"If you ever decide to toss my sister in the pool, give me fair warning so I can be here to watch" he joked and was quite pleased hearing her laughing a bit. However, it wasn't an honest laugh and for that, the boy felt bad.

"Well, she seemed pretty upset last time she got wet" she responded, smiling kindly at him and Ryan felt his heart rate speeding a bit; which was weird, but he decided to pay no attention to it.

"Yeah, her theory is never let her hair near water without shampoo, conditioner and a hair-dryer within reach" again, Gabriella chuckled and looked away. Ryan felt incredibly awkward but tried to keep the conversation going "Look… ah… I just wanted to let you know that I think it's cool that you're here" Okay, where the hell had that come from?! That sounds right out of a cheesy movie! Add something, add something! "Last year we had a lifeguard that had a hairy back…" Oh, that's better! Was that supposed to make this less awkward? You'll freak her out!

"I… guess it's a compliment"

Where had all his smoothness go? Suddenly he felt like he was 13 years old again and was trying to flirt with a girl for the first time! "Oh, yes, absolutely" why were his cheeks burning and why was he rambling? And why did his heart was beating so loudly?! "I mean, entirely"

She laughed lightly and that made him felt somehow better "Hey, it was fun watching you in the spring show, especially that ____* you did in front of Sharpay" oh, more awkward conversation. Now they were talking about the winter's (spring's really) show. Great, just great. Exactly where he hoped the conversation headed.

"Actually that's a Jazz Square" he explained, nervously. He should be playing cool and he guessed he shouldn't correct her but…

"Still, you're amazing" that somehow made him feel butterflies inside his stomach; which made absolutely no sense. Of course he had heard that was a regular reaction when you get complimented by someone you like, however… Oh no no no no! This can't be happening to me!

"Really?" No no no! Dangerous path, dangerous path!

"I think so. I'm looking forward to see you in the club's show. Hey!" she turned her attention back to the pool for a second and Ryan was quite glad because he was pretty sure his cheeks were tomato-red right then. Time to run!

"Okay! Well… eh… thanks again!" Run run run!

Once he put a prudent distance between him and the braniac, he sighed. Oh dear, no! You can not and will not harbor a crush on Gabriella Montez! He ordered himself mentally, but it was no use.

He was already harboring it.


Kelsi regretted not being able to say 'no'. Of course she wanted to help her friends but when Chad asked her to deliver some drinks at the pool she should have said 'no'. She bit her lip and forced herself to play cool and not to run away, yet she was having a very hard time.

Gabriella seemed to be being her usual happy-go-lucky self. What worried the petite girl was the way Ryan was behaving. Acting all blushy and fidgety. Honestly, what was that?

Ryan was just walking away and was heading her direction. Kelsi looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide. She settled for standing behind a sunshade; Ryan was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice.

But a certain female lifeguard did. And she couldn't help to feel very curious about it.


Kelsi entered the music room still feeling depressed and confused about the whole display she had just witnessed between Ryan and Gabriella. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. This was wrong; she shouldn't let him affect her so much. They had broken up almost 6 months ago and he still got the best of her.

"What's wrong?" she jumped, startled. She hadn't been expecting Ryan to be there. That was her working place! He had no right to be there! Of course, the whole place belonged to his parents, but still…

"Nothing" she stated, turning around to face him "What are you doing here?"

"Are you sure? You seem… upset" he argued, ignoring her question. He took a step closer to her and Kelsi made use of all her self control to prevent herself from taking a step back.

"I'm perfectly fine, Ryan. I'm just tired"

Maybe, but the boy doubted that was the real reason for her behavior. However, he decided not to argue with her and simply sighed "Well… I was hoping we could discuss the song for the summer's show?"

"Oh, right" she walked towards the piano and sat at the bench, trying her best to ignore him "I know I have the song somewhere…" she whispered to herself.

Ryan moved closer to her, to get a better look. He smiled; he might have been harboring a crush on Gabriella but the truth was that he would never get over Kelsi. Every time he looked at her, he felt the old feelings stir inside him and every time that happened he just wished he could place his arms around her and kiss her. He wished she would look at him with that love-struck eyes that he always had found so adorable and he wanted so badly to tell her how much he still loved her…

"Here it is!" the brunette announced, finally finding the music sheet she had been looking for "okay, I was thinking that… Ryan? W-what are y-you doing?" he had sat next to her without her noticing and when she had turned to face him, their faces were mere inches apart.

"You know, I really think your hair looked better longer" he said, softly caressing her cheek while playing with one of her curls "yet, you're still gorgeous"

She looked around, blushing lightly "Yeah, okay, whatever"

"What does Jason think?"

"Huh?"

"About your hair. He likes it this way?"

"I-I guess so. He has never really told me anything that…"

His lips moved closer to hers and Kelsi froze. Her instincts told her to surrender into temptation and kiss him but her mind was screaming for her to escape. Finally, she settled for standing up "I think I should leave"

"No, no" he said, standing up too "I'm sorry. That was highly inappropriate. Please stay. We really need to start working on that song"

"Ryan, I…"

"Sorry. I'm really sorry. Let's just get down to business, okay?"

The composer looked at him for a couple of seconds before nodding her head and sitting down "Okay, as I as saying, there are a few ideas that I think…"

He couldn't help to smile. She was getting so much better at pretending…


Gabriella walked into the kitchen, facing mixed emotions inside of her. One of them puzzled her greatly: fear. Fear to lose the boy she cared so much for. Fear to end up lonely and forgotten. Fear of Troy choosing Sharpay over her.

It was silly and ridiculous but she couldn't help to feel that way. Taylor and Chad had been trying to talk her into confronting Troy but she wasn't sure. She wasn't sure because she was afraid of what he would say or do…

He was being rude and uncaring. Not only to her but to his and her friends too. Maybe she ought to talk some sense into him. She wasn't sure it was possible, but it was worth the try, right?

"Gabs, are you okay?" it was Zeke the one talking and she watched him getting closer to her from the corner of her eye.

"Yep, perfect" she responded, with a kind smile "I was just thinking… So, is the baseball game's plan still on?"

"Of course!" the other responded "Troy isn't coming, is he?"

"I don't know; I'll talk to him" she said shrugging.

"Gabby, try to keep your cool. If you get all worked up you might end up doing or saying something you might regret…"

She sighed and turned around "Don't worry. I'll see you guys later, ok? I'm gonna go looking for Troy, okay?"


Meanwhile, Ryan had just stormed outside of the music room. How dare Sharpay to do that to him? It was absolutely inconsiderate, cruel and selfish. What was wrong with her?! Since when she was so 'I don't give a damn about you'? They had always been so close… they used to say they would always watch each other's back… What had happened to all that?

He was so angry that, not even for a minute, the idea that Kelsi was feeling even worse for getting her song murdered (again) crossed his mind. He just wanted to… strangle his twin or something like that!

He sat in the reception, staring at the incoming guests. As if he hadn't been feeling awful already, now he had to add the fact that his beloved sister had just backstabbed him! How could she?!

He turned his i-pod on and started going through his songs, hoping to find something that would help him relax. Finally, he settled for a soft ballad and closed his eyes, feeling exhausted.

Well, the bright side would be that Sharpay had made his decision easier. Now he could focus his whole energies in befriending the Wildcats.

That, somehow, didn't make him feel better.


"Are you alright, love?" asked Jason, throwing his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders "you seem seriously pissed off"

"Sharpay demanded that I give her 'you're the music in me' and to speed up the tempo! How dare she?! First she steals Troy, then she stole our song for the show and… and…" Jason hugged her and she sobbed softly.

"Sharpay did what?!" Chad exclaimed; he had been standing behind Jason the whole time and he was as mad as Kelsi. He had a complete different way to show it, though "Oh, I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind!"

"Chad, don't!" Zeke shouted "we need to stay calm and…"

"Don't take her side now, Zeke! Even you had to admit she's just been nasty!"

The boy sighed "Maybe; but Troy is being just as bad. I believe we should…"

"Gabby's talking to him right now" Taylor interrupted "Come on, she'll need all the support she can get"


"He did what?!" Kelsi wouldn't believe it. That wasn't the Troy she knew and loved (in a very sister-like manner, mind you!) This Troy sounded awfully full of himself and very insensitive. Nothing like the nice jock that had helped her at the beginning of the year and the one who had busted her self confidence a little bit. It just couldn't be the same boy.

"Exactly what you heard, babe" Zeke said, leaning against the fence and looking around. Chad and Jason were standing a little far away from them, discussing with the rest of the team Troy's attitude.

"And what are we gonna do?"

"What can we do?"

"I mean it, Zeke! There's gotta be something we can do!"

"And why would we?"

"Come on, they're our friends! And we want them to be happy, right? Because they are so meant to be and…"

"And you want Gabriella as out of reach for Ryan as possible, correct?"

Kelsi blushed lightly and looked away, avoiding eye-contact with the boy "Am I that obvious?"

"Painfully" he said, with a smile while hugging her "I understand you, though. I also want Troy as far as possible from Sharpay" he laughed "guess we're equally hopeless"

"I wish we weren't" she whispered, resting her head against his shoulder for a couple of seconds "we'll find something to do, right?"

"No worries, cupcake. We'll work this out" he kissed the top of her head and walked away, since the game was about to start. Jason gave them a funny look but the brunette simply shook her head while smiling. Her boyfriend smiled back, dismissing the thought that something wasn't quite right.

If he only knew…


Kelsi was cheering as loudly as the rest of the girls for the Wildcats' team. It was a very close game and the composer was secretly hoping the guys would lose. Especially since their participation in the club's show depended on it (and the fact that Ryan was playing for the other team had nothing to do with her secret wish, mind you!)

"Gabs, I think you're cheering for the wrong team" Taylor stated, after an inning ended.

"What are you talking about?" the other girl argued, not even looking at her friend; her gaze fixed on the field. Or rather on a certain blond.

"Ryan is playing against us, you know?"

Gabriella blushed madly and glared slightly at Taylor, trying to act offended "I don't understand you, Tay"

"Really?" the other braniac said sarcastically, arching her eyebrows "I think I'm making myself pretty clear. Wouldn't you agree, Martha and Kelsi?"

Yes, she was; yet Kelsi chose to stay quiet. Martha just giggled. "Oh, come on girls!" Gabby exclaimed, her blush slowly fading "I just… I mean, I just… It's not like it's a crime to…"

"Fancy another boy who's not your boyfriend?" Taylor asked and Martha chuckled "No; last time I checked it wasn't against the law" both girls giggled madly and Gabriella looked away, feeling embarrassed "Now, speaking seriously" the braniac continued, with a mischievous grin "I believe Ryan would be quite eager to fill in the space that Troy is leaving, if you catch my drift" they giggled more.

"Oh, be serious! I wouldn't do that to Troy!"

"He had it absolutely coming" Martha argued "and let's face it; Ryan is quite a charmer. Do you know how many girls would love to be in your place?"

Me, for starters. Kelsi thought bitterly but continued faking a smile, as she had during the whole conversation. She just wished so badly that Gabriella didn't like Ryan that way… because it was obvious Taylor was right. He was practically already all over Gabby; if she broke up with Troy…

"Ryan is a great guy… when his sister is not around. But I don't think I could handle Sharpay. And we all know she would kill me if I dated her brother"

"She stole your boyfriend! She can't complain!" Martha exclaimed and Taylor chuckled a bit.

"She hasn't stolen him officially" Kelsi interrupted "And I don't think we should be having this conversation. We're Troy's friends too and we shouldn't be talking Gabby into leaving him"

Gabriella smirked a bit, unable to control herself. She wondered if for everyone else it was as obvious as it was for her that Kelsi fancied Ryan. Due Taylor's and Martha's faces after the statement, she guessed she was more intuitive than her friends.

"You can't be serious, Kels! Troy has been…"

"Yeah, maybe, but we shouldn't… I mean; this is just rushed and Gabby shouldn't break up with Troy without giving him the chance to defend himself. They might regret it later and…"

Is that what happened? Gabriella wondered; seeing just how passionate the composer was being she couldn't help to wonder if Kelsi's and Ryan's infatuation with each other had a longer story. A story that included some sort of betrayal and a huge misunderstanding…

Just then, the Chad scored a run and the girls interrupted their discussion to cheer again. When the cheering subsided, the girls were so entranced by the game that they completely forgot about their previous talk.

And for that, Kelsi was so grateful.


When the game ended and the Wildcats announced that despite the fact they had won, they would still be doing the show, Kelsi couldn't help to feel more than grateful. She was really looking forward working with the guys and it would also help her to endure the rehearsals with Sharpay.

And she was also happy because of how Ryan was bonding with the rest of her friends. He was part of them now; the brunette couldn't help to admire how easy going all the guys were and how easily they welcomed new people into their circle.

She thought Chad looked adorable with Ryan's fedora and white shirt. On the other hand, Ryan looked very unlike him with Chad's clothing but cute anyway. Then again, he was so perfect in her eyes that nothing he would wear would look bad…

Martha and Taylor were still teasing Gabriella and Kelsi was worrying that they might end up pushing the braniac into Ryan's arms. She certainly hoped that Gabby was smarter than that; however when people are push to their limits, they do the strangest things.

The females laughed and the composer laughed too, trying to pretend she had been paying attention. Until then, she had never seen the use of all the acting skills Sharpay had tried to teach her but now she was thankful for them.

Taylor and Gabriella walked away, leaving Martha and her to keep serving the food. From the corner of her eye, Kelsi watched them approaching to Chad and Ryan, who were animatedly talking among them. Taylor just stood next to Chad and shared a quick accomplice smile with Gabriella before the other girl practically jumped on Ryan. Kelsi didn't see his reaction but saw when he held Gabriella's hand over his shoulder and guessed he was smiling.

Oh, Gabriella was asking for a very painful death…


"We should meet later" someone whispered in her ear and she felt shivers going down her spine. Damn that boy! How dare he…?

"What for?"

"Discuss what are we doing for the show, of course" he said, with a cheeky grin "You wouldn't want to let your friends down, would you? I certainly hope that working with me won't…"

"Don't act so cocky with me, mister" she argued, glaring "we've worked together before and it ended just fine"

"Angel, I just…"

She turned on her heels and left, feeling enraged. He confused her greatly; everything about him puzzled her. The way he acted, what he told her… There was never a certain patern and she had no way of knowing what was really going inside his head. Once she had thought she knew, but then again…

"Everything alright, Small Person?" Chad asked, pulling her and forcing her to seat between him and Gabby. The girl eyed her curiously and Kelsi avoided eye contact, not wanting the braniac to know how badly he wanted to strangle her.

"Yeah, of course"

"You know, probably you should start working in this show-thing. You know I hate to rush you, but if we want to be ready in time…"

"Never mind it" she said, with a heart-warming smile "It'll be my pleasure. You don't know how glad I am we're doing the show"

"You know" Gabriella added, with a sly grin "We'll be here until 9 'cuzz Taylor's mom had work to do and since our work-time is over, maybe you and Ryan could start working on the music and the choreography"

"I-I… well, of course, it's fine b-by me" was she shuttering? Oh dear god, what exactly did Gabriella knew? Had Ryan told her something?

"Maybe you should help too" Ryan said, appearing out of nowhere and sitting on Gabriella's left side "I'll be needing a dance partner, after all"

And now Kelsi saw why Sharpay disliked Gabriella so much.


So, how do you like it? This chapter and the next one were supposed to be just one but this is 12 pages long, so I decided to split them (that's the reason behind the crappy title and summary) Anyway, I hope you didn't find it too boring.

A little clarification. In the part were Ryan and Gabby are talking at the pool, you realized there was a blank space. That's because I couldn't understand that little part of the dialogue, no matter how hard I tried. So, any help with that, would be very valuable.

Just to give you a fair warning, next 2 chapters will have lots of Ryella (although they'll also have some Ryelsi, to make it up to you) Don't lose your cool dearest, the Ryelsi will be back…

As always, thanks for reading. Any suggestion or commentary would be sincerely appreciated. See you soon!!