Disclaimer: Do I seriously have to say it? Ohhh all right. I don't own any of the characters, blahblahblah…

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A/N- Much loooove to all of the reviewers. You guys complete my life, not even kidding. It's my motivation… One comment though... Yes, I love the relationship between Sharpay and Ryan… but there's not going to be any incest… Just major friendship. This is definitely going to be a Sharpay/Troy story now… Yes, the way this chapter is heading, it's most certainly S/T… so… no Ryan/Sharpay. Sorry guys. lmao. I mean, in some stories I read... rock on R/S. But not in this story. Ahaha.

Awesome reviewers that I need to comment on:

Brokenmagicdewgong: You will indeed be seeing more of the "Icequeen" Sharpay, but not in this chapter… The whole first part of this story is showing a different side of Sharpay. Expect Miss. Icequeen in way later chapters. :)

Charlenempasp: No incest, like I said before, but my mind is pondering whether Sharpay should keep cutting or not… Still not sure, so I'd like some thoughts on it. :D

Cancer'sDeath: Ahahaahaa Thanks for the review, and sorry about the begging… It's just there are a ton of hits, and not that many reviews… I get sad. lol. But thank you for the splendid comment. :D

kawabunga555: Your question gets answered this chapter. Don't you worry :D

And to LadyLupinLover, Freeing Alys,Mai 3, and MissLovelyx3, your reviews like, brought me to tears. LMAO. Seriously, ahhh I wanted to start doing cartwheels when I read them. Thank you for such great words, it means sooo much to me.

And to everyone else who reviewed, I really incredibly appreciate it. Haha. Anywayyy.. On with the story :D

Ryan awoke first, and he gazed at the clock, which he squinted and read that it was 7:42pm. He yawned, stood up and stretched, picking up his spoon that fell on the floor. The television was still on, the darkening sky making the living room light up with each flashing image. He looked over at Sharpay who was still curled up in a ball on the coach. Her sleeping figure moved slightly and she changed positions and sighed. His brain flashed back to the image of her fragile body clinging onto him, and her cries haunted his mind. It broke his heart once again. He had to look away and he shut his eyes and shook his head lightly, trying to forget about how much pain Sharpay was in at that moment in time. Trying to clear his mind and clean up a bit, Ryan took the spoons and the chocolate ice cream container back into the kitchen.

On his way to the sink, he noticed the little red light blinking on the answering machine. Suddenly puzzled, he reached over and pushed the 'play' button, and put the spoons in the sink with a clank. He turned the faucet on and cleaned the silverware quickly as the machine started to play the newest message.

"H-Hey Sharpay and Ryan… It's Troy…" Ryan did a double take and listened to the rest of Troy's message, leaving the water running.

That's odd, Ryan thought as the machine finished and shut off, the only sound left in the room being the sink. He blinked and realized it was still running and he turned the handle so the water stopped. Wonder what he's up to… I'll have to remember to call him tomorrow, he thought as he walked back into the living room.

"Seems as if I've spent this whole day sleeping," Sharpay said yawning.

"Hey," Ryan said laughing, "it was well deserved. How long have you been up?"

"I heard the answering machine go off a minute ago. Who called?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Yeah, see, that's the weird thing," Ryan said sitting down next to his sister, "it was Troy."

Sharpay swallowed and her heart did a back flip, but she was casual. "Troy?"

"Yeah, he wants us to call him back. He didn't say why though."

Sharpay sat back and tried thinking of all possible the reasons why, out of all people, Troy Bolton would call the Evan's house, on a Wednesday evening no less. But her mind came up short.

"That is so random!" she said trying to keep a grin off her face. Please don't let him notice… she pleaded.

Ryan had a growing suspicion but he didn't say anything about it. "I'm going to call him tomorrow," he said, waiting for a reaction. Sharpay resisted the urge to say anything stupid that would make it obvious that she had a thing for Troy, and she tried finding words to respond back, but she ended up just shutting her mouth, raising her eyebrows and nodding with a smile.

"C-Cool," she managed to say after a few moments. Ryan looked at her strangely. "What," Sharpay said smoothly, covering up her nervousness, "did I grow an extra head or something?"

Ryan chuckled, "Yeah! It's right there," he said pointing, "and it's all green and slimy and hairy…"

"Eww!" she squealed and she swatted his hand away playfully. That was one of Sharpay's specialties. She covered up a lot of her emotions with her sarcasm; she could get away with almost anything. That's why she was such a good actress. Smiling inwardly that she sidetracked Ryan off the subject of Troy, Sharpay suddenly yawned again. "I'm gonna… head up to my room, you know, hang out there for the rest of the night. I have a lot to think about. Night, Ry." She turned around and started to head towards the hallway that lead to the stairs.

"You know you are not leaving me for the night without another hug, right?" Ryan smiled and stood up.

Sharpay turned around, absolutely beaming. She giggled as she ran over to her brother and she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. He picked her up and spun her around, earning more laughter from Sharpay. "Thank you, Ryan. For everything."

"Now go to bed, you lil' punk," Ryan said, putting Sharpay back on the ground.

"Night, dawg," she said, leaving the room with a gangster sign.

"Night, Sharpay," Ryan said, laughing at her retreating figure. He sat back down on the couch, and started flipping through all the channels.

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The hot and humid summer weather made Sharpay feel sluggish as the temperature changed from the air-conditioned luxury of the first floor, to the warm breeze blowing in through all the open windows on the second. She stripped of her t-shirt and red sweatpants and changed into some blue boxer shorts and a white wife-beater. Sharpay wasn't all that tired, but she had to have time alone to think and sort out her thoughts. But there was only one person that Sharpay's mind could focus on at the time. Troy God Damn Bolton. Sharpay didn't know his middle name, but she figured that suited him well enough. Her heart leapt at the thought of his name, and a smile crawled onto her lips as she pictured his face. His gorgeous… perfect… flawless face. She giggled like a little schoolgirl. But her smile quickly faded as she pictured Gabriella, Troy's girlfriend. They're perfect for each other, Sharpay thought depressingly. Maybe a little too perfect? Hope lingered in her chest, but it didn't last long. Being optimistic really wasn't one of Sharpay's strongest points.

She collapsed on her bed and she lay on her stomach on top of her covers, for it was far too hot to be under them. Her mind quickly replayed events that happened that afternoon.

"Why the hell would you do something like that, Sharpay?"

"I don't know!"

She cringed and tried erasing that memory from her brain.

"No. More. Secrets."

Her mind pondered that thought for a moment. She decided she really liked that idea. But the catch was, Sharpay still had a ton more things Ryan didn't know about her. He'll know eventually, she figured. Don't want to overload him with too much information.

Ryan's voice was heard again. "Yeah, see, that's the weird thing… It was Troy."

The millisecond her mind started thinking about Troy once more, Sharpay smiled and giggled. She couldn't help it; it just happened. Frustrated, she rolled her eyes and turned so she was lying on her back and she took her pillow and hit herself in the face a couple times, laughing. "I. Can't. Like. Troy." She repeated as the cotton made contact with her skin. She grunted and let go of the pillow so it rested on her face. But she couldn't stop thinking about him, no matter what she did to try and stop herself. But wait… why would he ask for both Ryan and me? Maybe… maybe he… Sharpay let her mind wander once again. She was a dreamer, she loved letting her imagination get the best of her, whether it was good or bad.

Her first scenario she thought up was that Troy called and wanted to say goodbye because he was moving across the country. She imagined the brim of his eyes filled with tears… Sharpay was suddenly horror-struck at that thought and felt like mentally slapping herself for even dreaming up something that atrocious. So she just hit herself in the face with the pillow again. Second scenario, maybe, she thought excitedly, he'll admit his undying and everlasting love for me! Yeah! Her thought was very sarcastic, but just for a second, she let her heart believe that statement. But the reality of the situation took over her mind once again, and it shattered that thought. She was just about to lift the pillow and hit herself again, when there was a knock on the door.

"What?" she said, her voice muffled.

"Can I have my pillow back?" Ryan laughed from behind the door. Sharpay sighed, but couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

Ryan opened up the door and Sharpay lazily chucked the pillow in his general direction. She turned her head sleepily to face his.

"There's your frickin' pillow," she said smiling.

"Yeah, nice throw," he said mockingly, walking forward a bit and leaning over to pick it up.

"Hey! That was with my right hand!" Sharpay said trying to defend herself.

He rolled his eyes. "Lefties."

Sharpay was going to shoot another comeback at him, but then decided it wasn't worth it. He closed the door softly, and after a short time, she drifted off into a dreamless peaceful sleep, feeling a tiny ray of happiness for the first time in a long while.

The next afternoon, Sharpay was in the den, busy browsing the internet for anything interesting that caught her attention and Ryan was in the next room, sitting on the couch, holding the phone in his hand. Sharpay wasn't the only one wondering what the heck Troy was up to. Finally, his curiosity got the best of him, and he dialed Troy's number and lifted the phone to his ear. The phone rang a couple times before he heard a male voice pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, this is Ryan Evans… Is Troy there?"

"This is Troy… Hey Ryan!"

"Hey!" There was a slight pause. "You called last night?" he inquired.

"Yeah! Yeah, okay, so me, Gabriella, Chad and Taylor were chilling out, thinking about the winter and spring musical, well, basically our junior year in general… Once you know, everything got cleared up… you guys seemed really cool to be around. And we got so close over the rest of the year, and I just realized that I haven't seen you or Sharpay since school ended… what kind of a friend is that? Whaddya say? You wanna hang out sometime?"

Ryan smiled. So maybe Troy wasn't all that bad. "You know, that sounds really cool. I know it's going to mean a lot to Sharpay." He hesitated, not knowing whether he should go on, but he ended up explaining himself a bit. "I… I'm not going to say much, but Sharpay's been… having a tough time lately… with… different things. And I know I can't always understand what she's talking about, I'm a guy." He laughed.

"Oh, yeah, I see." Troy itched to ask what happened to her, but he kept his mouth shut. "So how 'bout it? Sound fun? Or do you completely hate it?"

"Oh! No! That sounds awesome! We've been cooped up here bored out of our minds, this place gets kinda lonely when it's just two people here."

"Dude! You have the place to yourselves?"

"Yeah! Parents went on… a vacation." An idea popped into Ryan's brain. "Do… do you guys want to hang out over here?"

Troy was surprised. "Would… that be okay?"

"Of course! I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't."

"I feel like I just invited myself over," Troy laughed. "You really don't have to say yes. We could always hang at my place."

"No, hey," Ryan laughed also, "seriously, it's cool."

"So… okay, where, when, what time?"

"My house, tomorrow, say… noon time?" Ryan asked, up for suggestions.

"Sounds awesome! I'll tell the crew. It'll be me, Gabriella, Chad and Taylor," Troy said, confirming what's going on.

"Okay then! Tomorrow it is… see you then!"

"Catch you later, Ryan!"

He heard Troy's phone click off and the dull dial tone rang in Ryan's ear. He shut his phone off also. He jogged to the den saying, "Sharpaaaaaaayyy…." sounding out the last syllable of her name until he got to the door. Sharpay paused what she was doing on the computer and spun around in her chair.

"Whaaaaaaat?" she said imitating him.

"Guess who's coming over tomorrow!"

"Uh… you got me," she said, throwing up her hands. "Who?"

"It's going to be me, you, Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, and Chad."

Sharpay would have responded, but her ears stopped listening after Troy's name was mentioned. Ryan looked at her, waiting for some type of reaction.

"Are you… okay with that?"

"Oh!" she said quickly. "Yeah! It's sweet! It's… gonna be awesome! I hope we're not too boring for them," she joked.

"Boring?" Ryan asked. "In this house? Girl, please," he laughed, putting his hands on his hips.

"Okay, okay. You have a point." Sharpay smiled and seemed perfectly calm and collected on the outside, but inside she felt like her heart was going to explode right out of her chest. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.

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Around noon time the next day, the doorbell echoed loudly throughout the mansion. Ryan yelled for Sharpay to answer the door because he was busy.

Sharpay felt like she was going to puke.

Her heart pounded so loudly, she was afraid Ryan could hear it from the kitchen. Swallowing her fear, she slowly walked up to the door and turned the handle on the door.

And there he stood.

Troy's loopy half smile shown on his face brightly, and his shaggy brown hair lay perfectly atop his head. His blue eyes twinkled when he saw who opened up the door. Sharpay tried to keep her jaw from hanging down. How on earth does a guy get even more gorgeous within a couple weeks of school ending? Impossible, maybe, Sharpay thought, but Troy just proved that wrong. God damn. She was just about to choke out a reply, but Troy interrupted her.

"Sharpay! You look… different," he smiled.

Oh honey, I'm not the only one who looks different… SHIT, she cursed; she just realized why he mentioned that. I'm wearing no make-up, no accessories… Plain jean shorts and a blue tank top? How the hell did I forget? If Sharpay had a pillow in her hand, she knew she'd be hitting herself with it at this moment.

"Different in a good way, or different in a bad way?" Sharpay asked more shy than normal. Since when am I shy?

"Bad," Troy joked.

"Oh, thanks," Sharpay blushed.

"Of course in a good way!" He smiled. Oh good lord, his smile. Sharpay swore she was a puddle on the floor. She felt like one anyway. I'm falling for him bad. She meekly accepted his flattering remark.

"Hey Gabriella!" Sharpay said to the person standing behind Troy, trying to stop the embarrassment.

"Hey," she replied simply, but her smile was certainly genuine. Looking around a bit, Sharpay was suddenly confused.

"Hey, uh... Where's Chad and Taylor?"

"Oh!" Gabriella perked up, "It was like, their four-month anniversary or something… They called a couple hours ago and bailed out. I guess it's okay though, it's a reasonable excuse."

"I guess…" Sharpay said dramatically, which made the three teenagers laugh. "Come on in!" She opened the door wider and let Troy and Gabriella step through the doors into the main part of the house.

"So… you really have it tough here, huh?" Troy said sarcastically, trying to look in every direction at once. The sight was exhilarating for him. Gabriella was just in awe. Sharpay just laughed and fiddled with her hands uncomfortably. She didn't like talking about money or wealth, or anything of the sort. Troy cocked his head at Sharpay cutely.

"No… sly remark? No insult? Where's the Sharpay I know?"

Sharpay couldn't help but smile. "Well, I guess you don't know the real Sharpay then," she replied quietly. She gained enough courage to bring her gaze up and look into Troy's electrifying sky-blue eyes. The world seemed to slow down to a halt and seconds that ticked by were like hours. All Sharpay could hear were her breathing and her own heart beating within her. Strange thing was, Troy was staring back with the same intensity. She couldn't explain it. There was this fiery sensation burning deep inside her wanting to burst out… yet at the same time, the other half of her was trying with all her might to put out that fire. But their gazes were locked on each other, neither wanting to look away.

Ryan waltzed into the room and looked back and forth between the two a couple times and raised his eyebrow. He smiled, coughed and cleared his throat and patted Troy's back.

"C'mon, Troy. We'll leave these ladies to do… lady stuff. I'll show you our entertainment wing."

Troy's jaw dropped as Ryan steered him away from the girls. "Wing? Not just a room, but a wing?" he said in disbelief.

Sharpay and Gabriella laughed and they stood alone. Sharpay drew a circle with her foot on the hardwood floor.

"So… you wanna see my room?"

Gabriella's eyes lit up. "Sure!"

Sharpay stared at the floor as she lead Gabriella up the large marble staircase, still embarrassed about what happened between herself and Troy. He hadn't even been there ten minutes, and Sharpay had already done something to make it awkward between them.

"Didn't know you were ever this shy, Sharpay," Gabriella smiled as they reached the topmost step. Sharpay glanced over her shoulder and blushed.

"Oh… I… I'm sorry—"

"No! No, I kinda like it. It's… different, but I like it," Gabriella said honestly.

Sharpay didn't respond, but a smile did creep on her face as she turned the doorknob into her room. Again, Gabriella was in awe. The light pink painted walls were illuminated in the afternoon sun, making the room seem much brighter than normal. Her king-sized bed was in the back corner raised on a platform that separated two areas. It was sprinkled with some hot celebrity posters and a couple shelves that matched the white carpet. A walk-in closet was to the left of the door, and the bathroom was on the right. It was a very girly room indeed.

"I think my entire house could fit in your room, by the way," Gabriella said with a chuckle, still looking around. Sharpay smiled and shrugged, but didn't respond. Gabriella's face was calm, but concern was visible in her features. "Sharpay, are you okay?"

Sharpay looked away and rubbed her neck. She nodded, but Gabriella didn't buy it. Sharpay walked over and sat on her bed, and Gabriella followed suit.

"I was talking to Troy on the way here…" Gabriella started to say cautiously. "He said that Ryan said on the phone that you, uh…"

Sharpay was suddenly alert and tense. "What did Ryan say?"

"H-He just said that you… you've been having a tough time lately."

The two teenage girls sat in an uncomfortable silence.

"To tell you the truth," Sharpay sighed after a brief period, "I've had a lot of these serious conversations in the past week. It's tiring me out," she laughed.

Gabriella laughed also. "Then I'll keep it short and to the point. Look, I've known you since I moved here last winter, and yes there have been some like… rough times, but I'm willing to look past them and you know, maybe something good will come out of it?"

Sharpay rubbed her arm and stared at her comforter, thinking deep and hard. What if it was all an act? Could she trust Gabriella? What made her change her mind so quickly? Sharpay didn't know if she was ready to now have two people in this world knowing all of her secrets. Not when just a week ago nobody knew at all. But the look in Gabriella's eyes was serious, and she figured she didn't have to know everything off the back. Sharpay nodded hesitantly, not about to find the right words to say. But, you know, Sharpay was really beginning to like this whole "friend-having" thing.

"It's going to take some time." Sharpay surprised herself, she didn't mean to blurt that out, but she was glad it was said.

"I know…" Gabriella said, picking at the pink threads on the covers. "It's just…" Gabriella sighed. "I need a friend too."

Sharpay's face softened, but it soon turned to a confused expression. "How'd you kn—"

"I could just tell. And probably because we may be more alike than you think."

"What about Taylor? I thought she was one of your good friends." Sharpay hoped that didn't sound mean.

Gabriella rolled her eyes "She's always with Chad. And whenever I am with her, Chad's all she ever talks about."

"What about T-Troy?" Sharpay asked with a stutter. "You don't talk to him?"

"Troy's a dude. Dudes can't talk about girly things. Actually," Gabriella said remembering, "I did have a conversation about tampons with him just the other day, but he got so grossed out, I thought he was going to faint!"

Sharpay laughed and scooted up more on her bed. "Ryan and I… we've always been kinda close… But I talk about those things all the time to him. He's used to it," she giggled.

"Are you serious? That's awesome! I wish I had a brother like that!"

"Yeah," Sharpay cracked a smile, "Ryan's really somethin else. He's always been there for me… he's been basically my only friend my entire life. Even though it seems like I have everything, I really don't."

"You know, Sharpay, you're pretty cool," Gabriella said truthfully. Sharpay turned red and couldn't respond back. "Sharpay!" Gabriella laughed. "You were never like this in school! I don't think I ever saw you blush once this past year. And when I got here, I've seen you blush about six times!"

Again, Sharpay was embarrassed. "Oh. The 'School-Sharpay'… That's not me… well, I don't know who I am, really," she tried to explain. "I'm who everyone thinks I am, and I'm not sure who that is either…"

"That's confusing," Gabriella giggled.

"Yeah I know. I've tried explaining this to Ryan also. It's hard. No one really cared enough to get to know the real Sharpay… whoever that is."

"Well, I want to know." They smiled and couldn't resist the urge to reach over and hug each other.

"Ohhh… here we go with the hugs," Sharpay said laughing as she squeezed Gabriella tight.

"I'm guessing you've had a ton of these also?" Gabriella asked while she pulled away. Sharpay nodded solemnly. "I won't ask what happened. When or if you ever want to tell me, I'm here to listen."

"I just have a question…" Sharpay said slowly. "Why… why now? Why… so suddenly? I mean, I was so cruel to you…"

"You were. But… I forgive you. Honestly. I... I want to get to know you, Sharpay."

"Ray?" They heard Ryan shout from the first floor, interrupting their conversation.

"Oh my god, that's so adorable! He has a nickname for you? Awww!"

Sharpay shoved Gabriella, but they both laughed.

"Yeah, Ry?" she yelled back his nickname, only to see how Gabriella would react. Gabriella just happily clapped her hands.

"You guys are so cute!" she squealed.

"Me and Troy are gonna get a bite to eat somewhere in town. You guys wanna come?"

"Only if I can drive!" Sharpay shouted back, grinning sweetly even though Ryan wasn't there to see it.

"Yeah, yeah, I figured. Can you guys be ready in fifteen minutes?"

Sharpay ran over to her door so she didn't have to shout as loud. "Make it thirty, and we'll definitely be ready."

"Thirty it is then." The girls heard him sign in defeat.

Gabriella scrunched up her nose, "Anything I can wear?" she asked timidly.

"Girl, have you seen my closet?"

"Good point."

The girls raced over to Sharpay's walk-in closet, trying on countless outfits, neither knowing both of them were looking to impress the same boy.

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A/N – Wahoo! IT FINALLY FRIGGIN WORKS. OH MY GOD.. I promised this would be posted a LONG time ago, and at first I didn't post it because one of my friends had to read it so I could figure out if it was good or not.. Haha. SHOUT OUT TO LIN-Z! I love her :D ha. And THEN I tried posting it, and it wasn't working FOREVER. I wanted to shoot my computer countless times. You have no idea. But it works now, that's all that matters. Anyway, I've started on an outline of the start of the 4th chapter, but I'm always up for some sweet suggestions. Maybe I will use someone's idea in later chapters! Ya never know… 4th chapter includes a call from the Evan's parents from Vegas… muahaahaaa. You know, when I started this story, it was originally going to be a Sharpay/Gabriella story. But I'm going to save that for a whoooole other story, man. That's why originally, I didn't know whether it was going to be a Sharpay/Troy story or not… Heh. Just a little background informationnnn.. :D Comments are appreciated. :D See? I'm not begging, I'm just telling you I like them. :D