Chapter 9: No Woman No Cry

A/N: I meant to put this up yesterday but the site was screwy. I don't really like this chapter but it's kind of essential to the story. The title is from the song of the same name by Bob Marley. The title is Jamaican patois meaning "Don't cry, woman", though it is frequently misunderstood as meaning "Women make you cry"(wikipedia)

A cool breeze blew across the beach sending the smell of the ocean and salt-water spray toward a lone person sitting on the sand. The man's face was hidden beneath his hair, his body bent forward to rest on his knees. Not a sound was heard coming from the man; the only way one could tell he was alive was the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. The sound of a crashing wave in the distance brought the man out of his reverie and he looked up. Troy scanned the surrounding area for the source of the disturbance, his eyes tired. He didn't look particularly happy, his face scrunched up from some unknown emotion. A single tear made its way down his face as he again buried his face into his knees, blocking the rest of the world out. A few minutes passed as he sat there watching the ocean, the waves breaking on the beach. A shadow fell across the sand in front of him, blocking the light from the full moon. Someone shook him gently on the shoulder, rousing him from his short nap.

"Troy…" They whispered.

His eyes snapped open in an instant though he could see nothing in the darkness. It took a few seconds for him to realize that he was in Sharpay's apartment in New York. A warm weight was lying in the crook of his shoulder. It turned over in its sleep to reveal that Sharpay was sleeping in his arms, the moonlight casting a white glow across her face. She mumbled something incoherent in her sleep before saying his name.

"Troy…" She said before pulling closer to him in an attempt to get warmer. Troy realized that her saying his name had woken him up. He put his arms around her and looked down as a smile crept across her face. He sighed as he remembered what had happened earlier that day.

Flashback

"Sharpay!" Troy yelled as he ran into the street. She had been running away from him; out of the park and into the street. A city bus had sounded its horn to signal to her to get out of the way. When she looked up at the bus she fainted, her feet planted firmly in the ground. Troy ran into the street and tackled her to the ground out of the way of the bus. He turned in midair so that she would land on his chest while he took the brunt of the landing on his back. Cars in the other lane screeched to a halt as Troy held onto her tightly, his eyes squinted shut in fear. Honking horns could be heard as Troy slowly opened his eyes. Several people were gathered around them, a man held his hand out to help him off the ground. He quickly accepted the offered hand and brought Sharpay and himself up off the ground. He carried Sharpay out of the street and onto the sidewalk. He walked back toward the park where he set her down on a park bench. Ryan came running up to them, Sharpay's purse in his hands.

"What happened? Where the hell did you run off to? Why is she unconscious?" Ryan asked a myriad of questions quickly leaving no room for an answer.

"Whoa, slow down there Ryan. She's fine. She almost got hit by a bus when she ran away from me. I think she fainted when she saw it coming." Troy said as he tried to catch his breath from the hard sprint he had made to catch up to her.

"I think we should get going. We'll take a cab back to our apartment; maybe she'll wake up by then." Ryan said as Troy picked her up off the bench. They soon caught a cab and went back to the apartments. On the way back, Sharpay began to snore signaling that she was out like a light. Ryan searched through her purse and pulled the new keys out, opening the door and turning on the lights. Troy brought Sharpay into the bedroom and tucked her in gently, kissing her forehead before leaving.

"What a day." He sighed as he slumped into the couch next to Ryan.

"I hear that. Beer?" He handed a bottle to Troy who quickly accepted, downing the entire drink in one gulp.

"Hopefully when she wakes up she won't start screaming at us." Ryan said as he got up off the couch.

"I'm gonna hit the hay. I guess you can sleep out here on the couch." Ryan said as he threw his bottle away before heading off to the other bedroom. As soon as the door closed, he quickly threw away his own bottle and crept into Sharpay's room. He sat on the bed next to her, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face. Just listening to her breathe lulled him into sleep. He slipped under the blankets next to her and fell asleep. The door closed as Ryan left for his own room, having seen Troy fall asleep next to his sister.

The next morning

Sharpay awoke with a start, not realizing where she was. The first thing she noticed was that she was back in her apartment but she didn't remember how she got there. Slowly the memory of the previous day came back right up until when she ran into the street. The smell of pancakes and coffee wafted into the room and she rolled out of bed to see who was cooking. Ryan was sitting at the small dining table, reading the paper and sipping his coffee. Troy was in the kitchen standing over the stove cooking pancakes.

"Good morning Shar." Ryan said as he slid her a cup of coffee.

"I hope you're hungry." Troy said as he set a plate of pancakes in front of her.

"Thanks Troy." Ryan said as a plate was set in front of him as well. Sharpay just stared at the plate of pancakes with banana slices for eyes and a mouth.

"Umm, thanks Troy." She said as she began to eat. Ryan noticed the awkward silence in the room and got up to look in the fridge.

"Aww, no more orange juice. I'll be back in a flash." He said as he grabbed his wallet and headed down to the corner store. A minute passed in silence as Sharpay poked at the banana slice on her plate.

"I'm really sorry, Sharpay." Troy broke the silence as he reached out and took her free hand. A tear formed in her eye and it slowly fell down the side of her face.

"I don't know anymore Troy. I trusted you and you lied to me." She sniffled.

"Don't cry. I didn't mean for those pictures to be used like that." He used his finger to wipe a tear that was threatening to fall.

"I love you Sharpay. I don't ever want to hurt you." He squeezed her hand gently to let her know that he meant it.

"I don't even know who you are anymore." She pulled her hand away and a few more tears escaped.

"I'm Troy Bolton, 25 years old. I used to be a photographer in L.A. but I quit because they were a bunch of jerks. I live with Gabriella Montez from high school because we can't afford to live apart. We are just friends now and I think that she might be romantically linked to your brother. I like basketball and fried food but I don't like seafood. I met this girl at the airport who I am in love with." Troy told her everything that she needed to know about him as if it were a first date.

"I hate it when I see you crying and I hate it even more that I know I caused it. At least be mad at me because that's better than you being sad." She tried to fight a smile when she heard this but was only mildly successful.

"You ruined my reputation, Bolton." She said with teary eyes and a half smile on her face. She soon broke into laughter, the ridiculousness of the situation catching up to her. Troy laughed with her for a minute before they both calmed enough to speak again.

"I made you banana pancakes. You hardly touched them." Troy stated. Sharpay looked down on the plate and sure enough she had only taken one bite. She picked up the entire thing and quickly stuffed one into his mouth without warning. She laughed at him as he struggled to chew and swallow the entire thing.

"You're supposed to eat them like this." She said while cutting off a piece and putting it in her mouth. He swallowed roughly and took a sip of his coffee to wash it down.

"Thanks for the tip." He coughed as she took another dainty bite of the pancake.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Your mouth is so big I thought it would fit." She giggled. Troy moved over next to her and placed a soft kiss on her nose. She frowned at him before moving in to kiss him on the lips. He didn't complain as she deepened the kiss, forgetting about breakfast.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" Troy asked when they broke apart.

"Maybe." She said playfully before kissing him again.

"And time!" Ryan yelled as he slammed the door closed. He stopped his watch to show that he had made the trip in five minutes forty-one seconds.

"And it's a new record!" He exclaimed as he walked over to the table. Only then did he realize that Sharpay and Troy were quite busy at the moment. Shrugging to himself, he poured a glass of orange juice and moved to the couch to give them some privacy.

A/N: Chapters have been getting shorter because of a lack of good ideas. I've started the brainstorming for my next fic and actually have the first few chapters planned out. I should start writing that one soon if I'm not to lazy. Peace out.