Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter.

This chapter made me raise the rating of the story to M in the original version. During the rewrite, I realize that earlier chapters call for a higher rating. Especially with some of the things I added, like Chad's relationship with Jamie. So far, this story has covered serious subject matter like sexual assault, informed consent, and domestic violence, along with revenge porn. It's not going to get any easier. As Chad and Sharpay's relationship progress, the story will have more sexual content. Although I am the queen of fade to black. We also have Kim and Troy, who apparently can't be in the same state without jumping each other. Plus, one relationship that was mostly in the background in the original version will be front and center in the revised version, but that may not happen until part two.

Disclaimer: I don't own HSM. If I did, it probably wouldn't be appropriate for the Disney channel.

2020 update: I don't think it would end up on Disney plus either. We are definitely in Hulu or FX territory. This is so soap opera-ish.

Warning: Depictions and discussions of child abuse, strong language, and mentions of sexual assault. Although, because of the way I divided the original version of the chapter, all the sexual content ended up in the next section. I had no choice; otherwise, this would end up 12,000 words with all the changes.

(Feel free to encourage me to hurry up and finish the final proofreading on chapter 26, so I can post it early.)

Chapter 25: Nothing But An Allusion Built On Lies

Midafternoon July 13, 1995, Lava Springs Country Club

Five-year-old Sharpay sat in the rehearsal room, trying not to cry. Her mommy just finished screaming at her again because she wasn't good enough yet despite all the money on choreographers and voice coaches. The annual talent show was in two days, and Sharpay screwed up again. No matter how hard she tried, she could not get the choreography right. When Darby watched the rehearsals earlier this afternoon, Ryan was perfect. Sharpay missed two steps during the second verse and forgot a word. Ryan got to play with his Little League friends, and Sharpay suffered Darby's wrath.

Even at five, Sharpay Evans already knew that her mother cared more about appearances than her own child. Darby was sickeningly sweet to Sharpay in public. Darby always dressed her in the most elegant clothing and gave her the best things. Darby would never yell at her in front of other people. She only hit in places where the bruises wouldn't show. This time it was her stomach, the very first time a few weeks ago was her legs. Sharpay is confident this is going to be a regular occurrence now.

Sharpay knew not to cry. It would be worse if she cried. It didn't matter; the rehearsal room was soundproof. Sharpay already knew not to tell daddy. Darby told her that her daddy would never believe a whiny little girl over his wife. If she did say anything to anyone else, Ryan would become her mother's latest victim. Sharpay knew she had to protect Ryan.

When she heard the door cracked open, Sharpay was worried Darby was coming back to hurt her again. Instead, it was Kimberly Kim. She was another country club kid like Sharpay, who was dressed in the latest styles. Her mommy was a hotel heiress. She also wasn't very nice. That may explain why Kim's eyes seemed sad, just like Sharpay's.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked, pointing to Sharpay's top. Apparently, Darby broke skin this time. Blood was seeping through Sharpay's white top.

"I am okay, " Sharpay stammered out to the girl that Sharpay barely knew. Her painful moan when she tried to get up told the truth.

"No, you're not. Your Mrs. Evans daughter Sharpay, right? I will go and tell her that you are hurt." before the girl could leave the room, Sharpay grabbed her.

"Please don't tell her," Sharpay said, pleaded with the slightly older girl.

"It's okay; most moms make things better, or so I've heard." For a seven-year-old, Kim sounded very bitter.

"Not if she's the one that caused it," Sharpay whispered softly.

"Your mom hits you?" Kim asked.

"Please don't tell anybody?" Sharpay told her with tears running down her cheeks.

"I won't," the girl sighed as she grabbed Sharpay's hand.

xxxxx

November 8, 2008, 7:57 AM

"So exactly how long have you known that my so-called best friend is fucking Troy Bolton and had his kid?" That was the one question Chad did not want to hear from his girlfriend. The fact that Sharpay actually said fuck in that context proved how angry she was.

"How much of that conversation did you hear?" He asked her carefully.

"Enough to know that my best friend of 13 ½ years doesn't trust me enough to tell me about her relationship with Troy." Shit. She knew. He warned Kim and Troy. So did Ryan and Taylor, for that matter. However, they didn't listen. Now he was the one who was going to have to deal with this.

"Kim knows things that you don't know, and yet she couldn't tell me about Alex's real father. Apparently, she had no problem telling you. You're her BFF now." Sharpay said, screaming with tears running down her face. This was never a good sign with Sharpay. If she was mad, then she was at least processing what she was feeling.

"Sharpay, it wasn't like that," Chad said as he tried to grab her hand.

"She told you about Alex," Sharpay said in a half sob half scream as she pushed him away.

"Kim didn't tell me anything," Chad said, keeping his voice as calm as possible.

"No, let me guess Troy told you about everything. Troy actually is your BFF. You probably knew from the beginning." Sharpay yelled at him as she threw a pillow.

"Sharpay, I promise to explain everything I can if you calm down."

"I will not calm down. You're supposed to love me." The way she said that made him want to cry. "You lied to me. My best friend lied to me about her son. You kept the whole thing a secret from me for who knows how many years. I shouldn't be surprised because you didn't tell me about making out with Ryan. He didn't either."

"He told you eventually," Chad said in Ryan's defense.

"By accident. Neither one of you was ready to admit that you're not heterosexual. But that's just how things are in the Evans family. We are all liars. My mom is lying to my father by screwing her assistant. She cannot let anybody see the true monster she really is. My life is nothing but an allusion built on lies." She collapsed to the floor as she said that last phrase. Her tears were falling quickly.

She finally let him hold her. Her body felt like ice, and she was shaking all over. This wasn't an ordinary crying session. This was the emotional equivalent of the dam breaking. This had to be more than Kim not telling her about Alex. This was 19 years of pain and frustration breaking through. Everything she kept hidden for so long is finally coming out.

"Baby, it's okay. Just let go." He whispered to her as he rocked her body back and forth.

"Nothing's okay. Everything is a lie." Sharpay whispered.

"Some things are always true." He said, kissing her forehead.

"Name something," Sharpay said in a whisper as she continued to cry in his arms.

"I will always love you," Chad said as he kissed her on the forehead.

"Then why did you keep this from me?" Sharpay asked.

"I wanted to tell you immediately, but Troy and Kim wanted to wait until Thanksgiving. I explicitly told them they were stupid for waiting."

"Obviously, they didn't listen to you."

"You think they would've after my screw up with Taylor. "If it makes you feel better, they didn't tell me either. I figured it out when I realized Alex and Troy have the same food allergies."

"They do. I can't even have French fries with ketchup when Alex is in the vicinity."

"I was angry when I figured it out too. I had no idea that Kim and Troy were together for most of Troy's sophomore year. Considering how much time I spent with Troy, that was an amazing feat. It hurt that he didn't tell me. Troy knew about Ryan and Jamie, yet he didn't trust me about Kim. I may have cursed him out, so I understand why you're angry."

"This does not make me feel better."

"I'm at least hoping it will make you hate me less. Is it working?"

"Maybe," Sharpay said with a half-smile.

"I actually figured it out before Troy." And Ryan, but he's not telling Sharpay that. Since Chad probably will have to tell his other best friend that his mom is an adulterer at some point, he should at least shield him from Sharpay's wrath. "Troy didn't even know of the possibility of Alex until a few weeks ago and not from Kim," Chad explained.

"How did he find out then?" Sharpay asked.

"Actually, it was you."

"How exactly did I accomplish that when I just found out the truth?" Sharpay asked incredulously.

"You told him that Alex was Kim's son. Troy put the rest together himself. He didn't know officially until the day after we started dating." Chad explained.

"Why didn't you tell me when your attempts to get them to tell me failed miserably?" Sharpay asked.

"Troy and Kim asked me not to tell you because they wanted to do it in person in a few weeks. As I already mentioned, I told him that was a bad idea." Chad explained.

"At least I didn't break a plasma." Sharpay half-joked.

"Very true. Also, it wasn't my secret to tell Sharpay. Just like I don't tell other people about Richard. It's too personal and private to share. They were going to tell you at Thanksgiving. They just needed time to figure things out among themselves, which is why they are in Vegas this weekend. If it makes you feel better, Troy did not even tell Gabriella about Alex." Chad tells her.

"Not really. Unlike those two, I want a relationship where we tell each other everything." Sharpay said in a whisper as she tried to get up without losing her towel.

"You just said earlier that there are things about you that I don't know yet. Is that because you are deliberately keeping stuff from me or because you're just not ready to tell me yet?" When she didn't answer, he continued on. "You did not tell me about your suspicions involving Darby until last night."

"That's different."

"Or maybe you were not ready to tell me. That does not mean you love me any less."

"I need to get ready. I'm sure the car will be here soon. There's no way I'm letting you leave the house wearing that." Sharpay said, pointing to the T-shirt he was currently sporting. Great, Sharpay was using fashion as a defense mechanism. That meant the walls were back firmly in place. He would let her get away with it, but tonight they will talk this out even if he had to call Ryan to referee.

"Your father said the brunch was casual," Chad replied.

"Casual with my family means no tie. I thought Ryan gave you a primer?" Sharpay said as she walked into her closet and pulled out several suit jackets and dress pants, as well as a golf outfit.

"Ryan forgot to mention that. I don't remember trying any of this stuff on," Chad said as she handed him the clothing.

"You didn't. The last time we were at the store, I had your measurements entered into the system. Now that you are dating a member of the country club set, you have to dress the part." Last month he gave up on trying to keep her from buying expensive gifts for him. In the Evans family, they say "I love you" with visa.

"We are still dating even though you're mad at me?" Chad asked.

"I'm not Gabriella. I don't run away at the first sign of trouble. I am in this for the duration. I'm still mad at you, though. This is why you're wearing the suit and tie that I'd pick out."

"Yes, dear," Chad said sardonically.

"Do you want to sleep by yourself again tonight?" Sharpay said as she put his outfit in his hands and pushed him into Ryan's room.

XXXX

The moment Sharpay push Chad through the door to Ryan's room, her towel fell down to the ground along with the last bit of her composure. She almost took out her anger on Chad. She almost acted like Darby. The thought petrified her. She never wanted to be Darby. She quickly turned on her stereo so Chad couldn't hear her crying. If he heard her crying, he would be over there in seconds. She needed to be alone right now.

She was angry and hurt, but not at Chad. She knew the only reason Chad didn't tell her was Troy specifically asked him not to. What hurts the most was Kim. Kim knew everything about Sharpay from Darby to Richard. Kim even figured out that Sharpay was in love with Chad years before she realized it. Yet, Kim never trusted Sharpay in the same way. Sharpay was already upset about Kim keeping her out of the Alex situation even before she knew of Troy's involvement.

Theoretically, Sharpay understood why Kim needed to protect Alex. Considering Troy could have been no older than 15 at the time of conception, she was probably protecting him as well. She just couldn't understand why Kim didn't feel that she could trust Sharpay to keep the two of them safe as well.

The proverbial cherry on top was Kim knew all about Sharpay's crush on Troy, and yet she never mentioned that she and Troy were lovers. Kim knew about heard dozens of schemes to get with Troy, and Kim never said anything.

Sharpay felt like a fool. If she had known about Kim and Troy, she would have stopped chasing Troy years ago. It was in the girl code. Thou shall not chase after the guy your best friend is entirely in love with. (There's probably a sibling version of that as well, but she and Ryan have never been one for the rules.)

Ironically enough, Troy was the one who told her about his mysterious love. They talked about girl X a lot recently. He never mentioned her name, only her qualities— in hindsight, that had to have been deliberate. Chad didn't know that Troy only started dating Gabriella to get over girl X. Troy even followed Gabriella because he didn't want to lose her like he lost girl X, even though he didn't love Gabriella. As it turns out, Troy's girl X was Kim.

Sharpay pushed her thoughts of betrayal and sadness behind her usual mask of fashionista indifference. Knowing Darby, the car would be waiting before 9:00. She couldn't approach Darby upset because the woman would eat her alive otherwise.

Instead, she reapplied her makeup after grabbing her outfit that matches Chad's perfectly. She went with different shades of blue. She was distancing herself from the pink that Darby forced her to wear.

10 minutes later, she stood staring at her reflection, only wearing her underwear and top. She was desperately trying to get her hair together, but nothing was really working. She would just wear it up. As she began to placer hair in a ponytail, her shirt went up just enough for her to see the scar on her stomach. Sharpay gently traced the spot with one finger.

Sharpay remembered the day she received that scar. Kim found her in the rehearsal room, trying not to cry after Darby attacked her for getting the choreography wrong. That was when they became friends. Kim was the only one who knew that Darby used to hit her. From age five until age 11, when they move to Rhode Island for one year, Darby hit Sharpay. After that, Darby stuck to psychological abuse only.

"Sharpay, do you know what tie I should wear with this jacket?" She turned around at the sound of his voice. However, she didn't say a word; instead, her hand just stayed on that one scar. The tear tracks were still visible on her face. He didn't say a word. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her.

XXXX

In the 13 years that he has known her, he has never seen Sharpay this emotionally distraught. She was so messed up that he had to help her get dressed. Her hands were shaking too much to continue. Her reaction couldn't be just about Kim. She was too upset for it to be just about Kim.

He felt betrayed by Troy for keeping Kim from him. Especially because he knew about Jamie and Ryan. But he never had the reaction Sharpay was having. Maybe it was Darby. He wasn't sure if the woman's adultery was the only factor.

Ryan has been giving him warnings for a while. He's been told multiple times that the Darby he met in public was not real. Ryan asked Chad to take care of Sharpay because he knew Darby would be too busy with herself to care. Chad was also told in no uncertain terms to let Darby know that they kissed last year. Ryan also asked him not to tell Darby about the Kelsi breakup. Then there's the fact that Sharpay was convinced that Ryan was covering up being Nonheterosexual to avoid the wrath of Darby. That was sending warning bells off in Chad's head.

Chad also remembers the conversation with Kim the night of the not so virginal punch incident. Darby was always the one who pushed Ryan and Sharpay towards perfection. The fact that Ryan was starting to find his Juilliard schedule less stressful than Darby was concerning. Ms. Darbus did not have anything good to say about Darby, either. Including derailing the original production of The Taming of the Drama Queen.

But there had to be more? Chad was sure of it. If Chad wasn't afraid of accidentally telling Ryan about his mom's infidelity, he would be sending emergency text messages to his friend. But he does not want to have that conversation with Ryan right now, especially after he caught Kelsi making out with Natasha again. Ryan does not need that. Plus, he would be freaking out about Sharpay freaking out, and Ryan also did not need that.

Unfortunately, that meant he only had Kim to consult. When he was alone waiting for the car to pick them up outside the mansion, he decided to call Kim. When she didn't pick up, he assumed she was still busy screwing Troy. This resulted in him not leaving the best message for Kim.

"Kim, when you get done blowing my best friend, could you please call me back. Your best friend is having a slight nervous breakdown or significant nervous breakdown. I'm not sure which. I can't call Ryan because I don't want to accidentally tell him his mom is fucking José, and he owes his sister money. Her assistant is definitely not gay."

"Nice message," Sharpay said from behind him. She instantly grabbed his hand. Even though she seemed to be normal, he could still feel her body shaking.

"You're not going to tell them that I know?" Sharpay asked him as they stepped inside the town car.

"No," but he might warn Ryan and Taylor eventually.

"Mostly because I'm a little annoyed that they didn't listen to me when I told Kim that you find out. Also, I don't want to tell Kim and Troy that I was the one who accidentally told you the truth. Also, I am sure you want them to suffer until Thanksgiving when they were planning to tell you anyway."

"I think my cruelty is rubbing off on you," Sharpay remarked.

"It's not cruelty; it's cutting. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. Even though we have only been together for a little while, I know you tend to keep things bottled up inside you. Unfortunately, that leads to explosions. I don't know if you're reacting to the present or the past. Maybe we should just go home. I'll call your dad's assistant and tell him we're not feeling well."

"We're going. If we back out, I will never hear the end of it from Darby. I will tell you everything tonight. Just give me time, okay?" Sharpay said as she went in for a soft kiss.

"Tonight, you will tell me everything?" Chad asked earnestly.

"I promise," Sharpay said as she leaned into him.

Xxxxx

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas

Troy was currently watching Kim run around trying to get Alex and herself ready before meeting her dad at 10 AM. Alex was still running around in his pajamas, and Kim was still sporting post-sex hair. He knew they should not have tried to fit in round five this morning. They never grasped the concept of a quickie, even when they were sneaking around in high school.

"Can I help you?" Troy asked.

"Hold him down as I change him. Otherwise, it is going to take at least another hour, and I still need to shower."

"Of course."

15 minutes later, the two managed to get Alex in a pair of dress pants and shoes. Socks were too much to ask for, but they tried.

"I've been told that Einstein never wore socks, so it's okay." Kim just shook her head at his remark.

"At least our child is in good company, and you can try that line out all my father when he comments about the lack of socks."

"Like I promised last night, I will help you with your father no matter what."

"Just so you know, I'm scheduling potty training for when you're living with us this summer. There's no way I'm handling that alone." Even though they did spend a good portion of their time working through two years of sexual tension, they did manage to work through a lot of their other issues. Apparently, talking things out between sexual encounters seemed to work well for them.

"Is he always like this?" Troy asked her as he heard a knock on the front door.

"Yes. Why do you think I got a nanny as soon as I could afford it? I'm currently on number seven, I think. Ryan and Sharpay only went through three, one of which was Jimmy's mom, actually." Kim said as she walked over to answer the door. Troy was surprised to see it was his father with coffee in his hands. "I thought we were not meeting until 10 AM?" Kim said quickly in panic.

"I figured you could use your daily coffee, and I could talk to my son for a few minutes before we see your dad," Jack said, handing the cup of coffee to Kim.

"I definitely can use caffeine." She said before taking a long drink. "I think I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night."

"I heard. You know, for a four-star hotel, these walls are pretty thin." Troy instantly saw Kim blush. He wondered how long it would take her to realize his father was bluffing. There was no way he could hear them because he was on a different floor.

"I think I am going to take a shower now while you two talk. If Alex kicks off his shoes, try to put socks on him." A blushing Kim said, running into the bathroom.

"Do you really have to mess with her like that?" Troy admonished. "She is already edgy because of her father and losing her cell phone. Kim thinks she may have left it in the car in Albuquerque. There's also a chance that Alex put it somewhere. Well aware of what happened that midterms."

"Especially because Kim just transferred to U of A."

"Along with the fact that different states have different requirements for teachers. Kim is getting to the most crucial part of her education curriculum. Transferring again now would just put her ridiculously behind." Troy argued.

"That is very true."

"Besides, Berkeley has a better drama department. Contrary to what everybody thinks, that was the real reason why I'm going to school there. Plus, there is my eligibility to play basketball if I transfer schools." Troy brought up the last point, even though it wasn't really a factor he considered that much, in hopes of appeasing his father.

"I hope that basketball was not a major factor in your decision-making?" Okay, he wasn't expecting that response. This was coming from a man who lived and breathed basketball.

"That's a major change from last year," Troy said, a little shocked.

"Last year, you did not have a two-year-old son…That we were aware of. Things are different when you have a kid."

"I realize I don't have the same choices anymore. Basketball was only considered in the capacity of a basketball scholarship. If I had to choose Alex or basketball, I choose Alex." His son was the most important thing.

"If money is the only reason…" Jack started.

"Dad, money is not even a factor. Kim's trust fund matures in less than three weeks. When she turns 21, she will have full power over a trust fund estimated at $21.2 million. Kim will be paying me 'child support.' Although, I think it's just her way of making sure I'm not living on a diet of Raman noodles." Not that he's gotten to that point, but at least this way, he won't have to get a job next semester like he was planning to. Kim doesn't want him working, going to school, and taking care of Alex.

"She chose Alex over $21.2 million?" His father asked in complete shock.

"Actually, at that time, it was worth $28.9 million, but the market has taken a dive recently."

"I'm definitely glad she was the girlfriend that you accidentally got pregnant with." So was Troy. If he was going to be connected to anyone for life, he wanted it to be Kim.

XXXX

30 minutes into brunch with Darby Sharpay wish she took Chad up on his earlier offer. Not surprisingly at all, Vince had a last-minute Saturday morning meeting with the board. Per Daniel, her dad's assistant, they found out he would not be joining the group until later today. This was actually pretty normal for an Evans family outing, so she shouldn't be surprised. The only shocker was Darby still showed up.

But she shouldn't really be surprised because Darby never misses an opportunity to make her miserable. So far this morning, Darby criticized Sharpay's appearance "I really wish you would go back to being a blonde. You were so much prettier back then." "Blue just isn't your color, darling. You look so much better in pink." and her personal favorite, "You do know that the freshman 15 is just a myth. You don't have to put on any weight in college."

Once Darby was done criticizing her aesthetic, she moved on to attacking Sharpay's directorial debut. "Why did you decide to reverse the genders of the characters? Lucy's character was too aggressive. She shouldn't be the one chasing after William." "I thought I kept you from making a fool of yourself when I made the principal kill the production two years ago." Sharpay always had a feeling her mom was responsible for the abrupt cancellation of that show, but now she had proof. It didn't hurt; it just made her feel numb. That was usually her default mode around Darby these days. She didn't even have the energy for anger.

When she was done with that, Darby started attacking her choice of academic major. "I don't know why you are majoring in business. You never had a head for numbers." Apparently, her mother forgot about her straight A's in all her math and statistic classes in high school. If it didn't involve performing, Darby didn't give a fuck.

Sharpay had to keep Chad from throwing a fork at her when she said this. Instead, he just texted Ryan under the table. (The fact that he decided to text Ryan was a sign in itself of how bad things were because she knew Chad was afraid of saying too much to Ryan.) Sharpay is almost sure he asked Ryan why their mom was a Bitch, but the lighting was terrible. Sharpay has been asking herself that question for years.

There was also a good 5-minute rant about the almost-sex tape. Experts included, "If you're going to sleep around, make sure there are no cameras involved." As well as "Why did you have such horrible music playing in the background?" She didn't care at all about Sharpay's privacy being violated.

It was at that point that Darby moved on to criticizing her choice of boyfriends. She began her criticism by comparing Chad to Kelsi, who was the most fabulous person ever, according to Darby. Darby had no idea that Ryan ended things because Kelsi was awful and most definitely screwing Natasha.

Then Darby started making nasty remarks about Chad's hair and apparel choices. Apparently, they made Chad look … Okay, she used a really homophobic slur that Sharpay will not repeat. A.k.a. what Ricky Ward painted on Ryan's locker last year. Part of her almost wishes Chad would've replied with "that's because I'm one," but it is probably for the best he didn't.

Darby even managed to get a couple racial insults in there that made Sharpay want to crawl under the table. Though she now hated him for cheating on her with Penelope, she was glad things were never serious enough with Zeke for him to get to the meet the parents stage. If they were in the public dining area, Darby would just make polite conversation. Unfortunately, they were sitting in a private dining area, which allowed Darby to let loose. Or maybe she's just not even bothering to pretend with Chad.

"You're not actually going to eat bread, are you? You know it goes straight to your hips. How are you going to attract a suitable husband if you get any fatter than you already are? You must be what a size six now." Darby said to her with her normal condescending tone.

"I'm not looking, mother. I already have a boyfriend." She would mention she was already planning to be Mrs. Sharpay Danforth, but she didn't want Chad to go into a choking fit in front of her mother. Fortunately, Chad answered for her.

"Since I'm the one who will most likely be her future husband, I really don't care if she's a size six or a size 26," Chad responded.

"Like she is going to marry someone like you. You're fine for a college fling, but You are not husband material. My daughter must marry someone of a certain class. That is just not you. Excuse me, I need to go freshen up."

If Darby didn't leave, Sharpay would stab her where her heart was supposed to be. Sometimes she wondered if a wooden stake would be more appropriate. Maybe wooden stakes worked on emotional vampires as well.

"Your mother is an absolute bitch. A racist, homophobic, Bitch. Now I understand how Ryan ended up with Kelsi."

"Apparently, you said this to Ryan in text message form."

"I had no choice. I tried to avoid texting Ryan because I don't want to accidentally tell him about your mother's infidelity. However, it was either that or stab her with the butter knife."

"Or tell Darby that if you don't end up married to me, then you'll probably end up marrying Ryan." She could totally see Chad saying that too, and it wouldn't be a lie. Sharpay was seriously considering putting a line in her will that Chad was free to date Ryan if anything happened to her. "We already decided you were going to be in Evans no matter what."

"But for that to happen, one something absolutely horrible would've happened to you, and we would be mourning together. Two, the government would have to make same sex marriage legal. But anything to fuck with your mom. I hate her. Not only is she cheating on your father, but she also treats you like trash. I don't care what she says about me, but I won't let her talk to you like that."

"That's a horrible thing to say about your future mother in law, even if it's true," Sharpay said with a smile as she kissed him. "This is tame for her. She loves torturing me. She gets off on the pain."

"Her being a masochist seems on brand. She reminds me of how Charles treated my mom but worse. I didn't even think that was possible." Chad remarked.

"No, she likes causing other people pain, which makes her sadist. I'm her favorite target. That's why everyone but you and Troy had jobs here the summer before senior year. She knew it would drive me crazy to have all those people from high school that made fun of me here all the time."

"I thought I was part of that group?" Chad asked in confusion.

"Remember, you applied separately. When I went to talk to Fulton about hiring Troy, I notice your application in the stack of possible summer hires. I persuaded him to hire you. I hoped that if you were already here, Troy would be more willing to work here. If you remember from my paper, the whole scheme was to get Troy away from Gabriella."

"Because you thought she had no respect for the theater at all and was ridiculously fake but knew Troy has real talent," Chad remarked.

"I don't feel like I'm wrong in that regard, considering she suddenly become a sorority sister thanks to her new friend Mercedes. If I knew Troy was hopelessly in love with Kim and was using Gabriella as a substitute, I would have bought him a first-class ticket to New York instead."

"What did you want more, Troy, or to get Troy away from Gabriella?" Chad asked his girlfriend seriously.

"For him to be happy and away from Gabriella. If he's happy with Kim, then that's great because she is not evil."

"Then why are you so upset?" Chad asked.

"This has nothing to do with Troy. I've been over him for a long time. This is just a reaction to a million different things. Only half of them involve being betrayed by my best friend. Can we talk about how evil my mother is again?"

"She prefers Kelsi. She has horrible taste in significant others for her children." Chad remarked.

"Kelsi hates me, so that's a plus for Darby," Sharpay said darkly. "I can't believe she said you were not husband material. Like I would ever marry some country club snob. At least she has toned it down in recent years."

"This is your mother tone down? What did she do before? Hurt you physically instead of just psychologically? No wonder you were able to handle Charles so well when you had lunch with my parents." At his question, Sharpay completely froze. That was enough for Chad to know the truth.

"She did," Chad said in realization. All Sharpay could do was nod her confirmation.

"In fifth grade, during recess, you were playing on the monkey bars, and your shirt slipped up a little. I remember seeing all these bruises on your back. You told me you got it at rehearsal for your dance recital. That was a lie?" Chad asked. Sharpay couldn't believe he remembered that.

"Not completely; Darby hit me because I was bad at rehearsal. That was the last time. Child welfare services came to check on what was going on. They believed me when I told them the same lie I told you. After that close call, she never hit me again. We moved to Rhode Island after that for a little while until the rumors died down. To this day, I still don't know how anybody found out." Although she always suspected it could've been her dance teacher since she was promptly fired afterward.

"When I went home that day, I told my mom what I saw and what you told me. I guess she saw through it more easily than I did. She did a lot of child advocacy work at that time. Come to think of it, she did this last-minute presentation at our school just a couple of days later. We should have got you and Ryan out of there."

"She never hit Ryan. I made sure of that." Sharpay told him.

"That you're aware of." Unfortunately, that was true. She knew Ryan wasn't completely unscathed. She knew Darby's casual homophobic words hurt Ryan deeply. He was convinced Darby would never actually love him. Sharpay didn't have the heart to tell him that he was probably right. Darby couldn't love anybody because her heart was made of stone.

"It's fine. Even if I didn't get away from Darby, you got her to stop. If I didn't already love you, that fact alone would make me. Even Ryan didn't notice the bruises." Because she actively hid them from Ryan. "You're the only one who was paying attention."

"Didn't Kim notice what was going on?" Chad asked.

"Who do you think ran interference for six years? Kim even gave up parts for me in grade school just to keep Darby from hurting me." Sharpay said quickly before Darby walked back into the room with Sharpay's father on her arm. They were kissing and touching. The vision of a perfect family made Sharpay lose all appetite for the little food Darby was allowing her to eat.

To be continued…