Chapter 8: Otherside of the World

A/N: Yay, I got my first flame! It was for my other story but it still counts. Thank you, whoever you are. Your lack of tact and good grammar has left me in a foul mood. Also, if you plan on flaming me in the future, leave your pen name or an e-mail address so I know who I'm laughing at.

The sights, sounds, and smells of the big city enveloped Sharpay as she stepped out the doors of the airport. She closed her eyes for a second, breathing in the city air. 'I'm home.' She thought to herself. Walking down to the street, she quickly hailed a cab and got in while the driver placed her luggage in the trunk. The drive to her apartment was quiet; it gave her time to think back on what she was doing.

"He lied about his job and what he's been doing since high school. How do I know if he and Gabriella aren't really married?" She mumbled quietly to herself. The cab stopped outside of her apartment and she stepped out. She thanked the driver and paid him before he pulled the rest of her bags out. She gathered her things and walked into the building.

"Room 1412, home sweet home." She dropped her bags in the living room and went through the apartment. She checked to make sure that everything was still in place and that it was kept clean. She decided to unpack in the morning so she dumped her bags in her old bedroom and changed into her night clothes. Climbing into bed, she clicked the light off and had another bad dream about Troy.

The next morning

Troy and Ryan weren't quite as lucky catching a plane to New York. The earliest flight they could catch wouldn't arrive in New York until 3:30. The plane was further delayed by bad weather in Los Angeles. Due to the worried state that they were in, they packed nothing and had only a few items with them during the trip. Finally getting to Sharpay's apartment, they quickly ran into the building and up the elevator.

"Damn it! I don't have the keys. I left them back in L.A." Ryan said as he dug through his pockets, turning them inside out. They decided knocking on the door wouldn't do any good; she probably wouldn't open the door for them. They went back downstairs and asked the attendant at the front desk if he had an extra key to the apartment. Recognizing Ryan, he gave them the spare key. Rushing back upstairs, Ryan put the key into the lock and turned it.

"What the hell!" Ryan yelled as the key wouldn't turn in the lock.

"She must've changed the locks knowing that we would follow after her." Ryan said as Troy began pounding on the door. As Troy tried to coax the blonde out of the apartment, Ryan tried calling her cell phone. After ten minutes and no luck, they concluded that she wasn't there.

"Maybe she went down to the theater. All of our friends are probably there, practicing." Ryan suggested. They quickly ran back downstairs and hailed a cab to take them into town. Praying to anyone that would listen they ran into the theater to see if Sharpay was there.

"Ryan! What are you doing here?" A woman dressed in an elaborate costume asked as she came from backstage.

"Julia, have you seen my sister?" Ryan asked her.

"Who is this?" Julia asked as she gave Troy a once over. Troy just stepped back from her admiring gaze, not sure if he liked the way she was looking at him.

"I have to tell Sharpay something. Please, if you know where she is, tell us." Understanding crept onto her face as she realized who she was talking to.

"So you're Troy, huh?" She gave him a cold gaze and turned quickly, turning her nose up at them.

"Julia, this isn't funny. Where is she?" Ryan grabbed a hold of her arm and spun her around. She still wouldn't look at them in the face and instead looked at the far wall.

"She told me all about you. Don't bother trying to find her; I won't let you near her." She pulled her arm away from Ryan and advanced on Troy. Pulling her arm back, she struck him once across the face, bare palmed. She then stomped on his foot before turning around and pushing Ryan out of her way.

"Hey now that was uncalled for." Troy spoke up while rubbing his cheek from the powerful blow he had received.

"Fine, I'll make you a deal. If you can get past me, I'll tell you where she is." She spread her arms out above her head to stretch before dropping into a fighting stance.

"I can't fight you. I would never hit a woman." Troy crossed his arms in front of himself and stood firm.

"Oh don't worry about me, I have two black belts." She threw a few punches into the air before dropping into another fighting stance.

"Come on Troy, you can take her." Ryan pushed Troy toward Julia who smiled at him menacingly. Troy reluctantly put his hands up to signal that he accepted her challenge. As soon as his hands went up, Julia lunged forward and struck Troy squarely in the sternum. He was left on the ground gasping for breath because she had knocked the wind out of him.

"You gotta do better than that if you want to know where she is." She laughed at him, putting her hands on her hips. Troy took the opening that she presented and brought his foot up quickly to sweep her feet out from under her. He didn't quite make it though as he ended up kicking her in the crotch. She just took the blow with a smile and began laughing at him.

"What are you aiming for? I ain't got no balls, dummy." Troy scrambled to his feet as she laughed at his pathetic attempts to fight back.

"Come on Troy, she's kicking your ass." She landed a swift kick to the back of his head before twirling around him and punching him squarely in the stomach.

"She really kicking your ass." Ryan cringed as she landed another blow to his head.

"Time out." Troy put his hands in a T and tried to catch his breath. She put her hands down and shrugged at him.

"Take as long as you want. You still won't win." Taking the opportunity, he rushed at her and grabbed both of her arms. Spinning her around quickly, he put her arms behind her back and held her there.

"Hey that's cheating!" She tried to free her arms from his hold but to no avail. He had her arms and legs in a lock; it was impossible for her to move.

"I win. Now tell me where she is." Troy grunted out as he fought to keep her locked in the hold. After about a minute of them standing there in a deadlock, she conceded victory to Troy.

"Fine, you win. I'll tell you, just let me go." She whined. Troy dropped her arms and let her free from his hold.

"She went down to central park to think. She was so depressed, it was scary. Usually she's cheery and happy, but she looked like there was a black cloud following her around today." She walked backstage again, out of sight.

"Thanks, Julia!" Ryan called after her as they left the theater to catch a cab down to the park.

Two hours later

They had searched a good amount of the park and had still not found Sharpay anywhere.

"Damn it, why does this park have to be so big!" Ryan sat down on a park bench to rest. Troy continued walking down the path, leaving Ryan grumbling about his sore feet.

"You rest, I won't stop until I find her." Troy walked away from the path and down toward a pond. He saw a blonde woman sitting in the grass in the distance. Picking up his pace to a quick jog, he soon made his way toward the woman.

"Sharpay!" He called to her as he realized that it was in fact her. She turned quickly at the sound of her name and gasped in shock as she saw Troy approaching her quickly. She scrambled to her feet and tried to run away from him quickly. He caught up to her and put his arms around her.

"Stop running from me, Sharpay." Troy spoke softly into her ear.

"What Troy, didn't get enough pictures? You followed me all the way to New York to get more? You really are pathetic." She sneered as she struggled to escape his grasp.

"I quit that job because of what they were doing to you. I love you." He had finally spoken the three words she had longed to hear.

"I'm sorry. I don't even know who you are anymore." She finally wriggled free from his grasp. She elbowed him in the stomach and broke into a run.

"Is today beat up Troy day?" He winced in pain as he tried to catch up to her.

"Did you think saying 'I love you' would have me running back into your arms? This isn't a movie, it's real life Troy." She called back to him as she made her way toward the edge of the park.

'Damn she runs fast.' He thought to himself, struggling to keep up with the retreating blonde. She made it to the street and, without looking, ran into the street. A bus honked its horn loudly to get Sharpay's attention. Turning her head toward the sound, she froze in her spot on the street.

"Sharpay!" Troy screamed as he saw what was happening.

"Oh my…" The last thing she saw was white before everything around her faded to black.

A/N: I had to do it. There are about 2-3 chapters left before this story is done. There is the possibility of an epilogue or a sequel but that all depends on you, the reviewers, and whether I'm in a good mood or not. Expect the next chapter to be up by Thursday. Peace out.