Chapter 4: It's a Long Way to the Top

A/N: Ok first I want to thank all of the reviewers. It's good to know that you all like my story. Second, I want to apologize for the wait. I actually meant to put this up Sunday morning but I got lazy. I went to the beach instead but at least it was awesome. This chapter was rewritten twice before I finally got it the way I wanted it.

That morning, Sharpay and Ryan were going to eat breakfast in town with Troy and Gabriella. They went to a restaurant in La Brea, called Toast. Many celebrities go there to eat breakfast on weekends so Troy thought that they could possibly run into a few. They go to the restaurant early so that they could get in line for a table, the place was packed and it was only 8:30. While waiting in line, Troy continued the conversation that they were having the night before. Meanwhile Gabriella was flirting with Ryan though he was unaware that she was flirting. Troy had told Gabriella the night before, when she had gotten off of work, about Ryan and Sharpay. He also told her that Sharpay was his assignment and that he had to take pictures of her.

Flashback

"So Al tells me that I have to take pictures of Shari Evans but then I find out from Jimmy that Shari is actually Sharpay." Troy explained to Gabriella.

"What are you gonna do?" She asked him, yawning loudly before laying down on her bed. Troy got into the bed next to her and sat up against the headboard.

"I guess I have to take the pictures but not let her know about it. If I don't, I'll lose my job and we won't be able to live here anymore." He slid under the covers and turned off the lights, plunging the room into darkness. A few minutes were spent as the two of them tossed and turned in the bed, trying to get comfortable. Not like that sickos. After lying still for a few more minutes, Troy spoke again.

"Gabi, are you asleep?"

"Yes." Gabi turned over so that she was facing away from him and pretended to snore.

"We're going out tomorrow for breakfast." Troy turned over as well and faced in the opposite direction.

"With Ryan and Sharpay so dress nice." Troy fell asleep not long after that. Gabi's eyes popped open at the mention of Ryan's name. She drifted off to sleep, thinking about Ryan in her dreams.

End Flashback

Troy arrived at Sharpay and Ryan's condo at 7:15; going upstairs to get them while Gabriella continued to sleep in the car. Luckily today was her day off so that she could relax while her assistant manager looked after her shop.

"Knock, knock." Troy called into the door as he rapped his knuckles against the doorframe. Ryan casually opened the door and greeted Troy with a handshake before inviting him in.

"Shar's not ready. She just woke up and is running through the shower right now." Ryan explained as he sat on the couch and clicked the TV on. Troy took a seat in a chair next to Ryan and stared off into space. Suddenly, Sharpay appeared clad only in a towel calling for Ryan.

"Ryan, where are those shoes, you know the one with the…" She stopped herself as she saw Troy Bolton sitting in her living room staring at her. Quickly noticing that she was only wearing a towel, she ducked back into the hallway.

"Uhh, Ryan can you come here. RIGHT NOW!" She yelled at her brother as Ryan shot up off of the couch as if it were on fire. When he crossed into the hallway, Sharpay grabbed him by the neck and pulled him down the hall after her. She went into her room and shut the door, whirling on Ryan in the blink of an eye.

"Why is Troy in our living room and why didn't you warn me?" She wasn't really mad at him as much as she was embarrassed. Ryan stammered for a few seconds, his eyes darting around the room.

"Look there's your shoes!" He pointed at the corner where her shoes were sitting while inching toward the door.

Meanwhile outside, Troy checked his tiny digital camera and smirked at the pictures he had just taken. Four shots, in perfect succession of Sharpay appearing in the living room in her towel before running back into the hallway. Her facial expressions changed from each shot and ended with her looking completely mortified. Chuckling to himself, he pocketed the camera and got up from his chair.

"I need a raise Al." He spoke to himself before coming to Sharpay's closed door and knocking.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just fine Troy. Could you just give me a sec? I'm getting dressed." Sharpay answered through the door. Troy shrugged and walked back to the living room, followed shortly by Ryan as Sharpay kicked him out of her room. Ten minutes later Sharpay appeared from her inner sanctum and stopped in front of the TV. Clicking it off, Ryan and Troy stood and followed her out of the condo. After taking the elevator down, they walked out of the building to Troy's car. Gabriella was still asleep in the backseat but woke with a start when the doors opened. She rubbed her eyes as Ryan got into the backseat with her. Sharpay took the front seat since she wanted to use the mirror to do her makeup. They drove to the restaurant in silence, at least Sharpay and Troy didn't say anything. Gabi and Ryan were busy making small talk in the backseat, catching up on every little thing. The line at the restaurant wasn't to long so they were able to get a seat fairly quickly. Breakfast went on without incident, except for Gabriella frequently distracting Ryan and Sharpay while Troy took pictures of her. He felt bad about taking the pictures but it needed to be done and that if she never found out, it wouldn't hurt her.

They left the restaurant and decided to go street shopping. Gabriella and Sharpay were having a field day in all of the high end stores, snapping up clothing, shoes, and bags while Troy and Ryan were made to carry everything.

"Do you really need all of this stuff?" Ryan asked from behind several shoeboxes that were stacked in his arms. Troy was in a similar situation, bags of clothing on both arms and half eaten cookie in his mouth.

"Of course! I need a new wardrobe now that I live in California." Sharpay answered while handing him another bag. Gabriella was also on a shopping spree since Sharpay had offered to pay for it. The only catch was that she could borrow it if she wanted.

"You would never know she was a movie star." Troy said to himself sarcastically. He was still shooting with his palm-sized camera, pausing only to change the memory sticks.

Finally, after 3 hours of shopping, the girls' shopping bug had been satiated and Troy and Ryan were allowed to rest. They dropped off their purchases in Troy's car and walked to a nearby park. Having skipped lunch, Gabriella and Ryan walked off to a nearby hot dog stand to buy some food while Troy and Sharpay talked under the shade of a tree.

"I hope I didn't offend you when I came to your place this morning." Troy said referring to the 'towel' incident.

"Don't worry about it. We're adults so we've both seen the opposite sex naked before." She shrugged his apology off, never giving it a second thought. Troy smiled at her and she smiled back at him. Just looking at her, sitting under the tree with the sun and the wind playing through her hair, he had the sudden urge to kiss her. She must have felt the same thing as she slowly leaned toward his face, her eyes fluttering closed as she got closer. Troy followed her lead as he brought his lips to hers in a soft, gentle kiss. She could feel the heat in her face as she flushed with desire, moaning into the kiss as it got more sensual. They broke apart only for air as they continued to kiss while sitting under the tree. They were interrupted after ten minutes when Ryan and Gabriella returned. Handing the food to Troy and Sharpay, Ryan pulled a newspaper out from under his arm and showed it to his sister.

"I think you'd better look at this." Sharpay took the paper from his hands and gasped at what she saw on the front page. It was a picture of her getting out of Troy's car last night when they went to Gabi's café. The heading above it said, "Rising Star Spotted! We have the first official pictures". She couldn't believe how fast word got around!

"How did they get this picture!" She asked, reading further into the article.

"Wow, I guess you're really famous now." Troy was reading the paper from over her shoulder.

"News gets around fast here doesn't it?" Gabriella looked pointedly at Troy as he wiped some sweat from his brow.

"I have to put this on the fridge!" Sharpay jumped up and down excitedly, happy to have made the front page of something.

"I think some celebrations are in order." Ryan said, clinking his hot dog with Sharpay's and taking a bite.

A/N: Next chapter will be up tomorrow. Please leave a review. I still need suggestions for the movie Sharpay is in. Peace out.