A/N Thanks for all the reviews!

Chapter 2: Strange Feelings

Sharpay came home about ten minutes after Troy left. I was hanging out in the living room and was startled when she walked in the door. I glanced up at her. She had on a nice smile, and was carrying two heavy looking bags.

"Hello Ryan," Sharpay greeted me cheerfully.

A shiver went down my spine when she spoke to me. I was reminded of my earlier conversation with Troy. I gave Sharpay a weak smile. "Hey Shar," I said, a bit nervously. I wasn't sure why. There was nothing to be nervous about, right? "Well, I gotta go do, uh, this thing-" I trailed off as a stood up and headed towards my room, looking back at Sharpay.

"Ok then," she nodded with a hint of confusion in her voice.

I then bolted to my room and slammed the door shut. I was just glad to be out of there. After what Troy said, it was really awkward to be around Sharpay. The rest of the night and most of the next day (Saturday) I tried to avoid her as best as possible. It had obviously been getting on her nerves because she locked me in my room Saturday afternoon and demanded an explanation.

"Ryan, why have you been avoiding me?" Sharpay started casually.

I tried to act dumb. "What? I haven't been avoiding you." My nervousness was apparent in my tone.

Sharpay just rolled her eyes. She held me straight and looked right into my eyes. "Tell me the truth," she said sternly.

I tried to look away, but to no avail. I was always weak when she did. "Ok! I was!" I blurted out.

Sharpay gave a satisfied smirk, but then her face softened to concern. "Why?" she asked softly. She led my over to my bed and we both sat down.

I looked away from Sharpay. I wouldn't be able to talk to her about this if I looked at her. "Well, you see, Troy and I were talking yesterday, and he said something about us that's not true, and we were both getting all defensive. That guy has a way of getting inside your head an making you crazy."

Sharpay put her hand over mine in attempt to make me feel better. "If you know it's not true what's the big deal?" she asked with a soothing voice. "Who cares what Troy thinks?"

I somehow managed to turn and look at Sharpay. I sighed softly. "You care what other people think."

"But you don't," Sharpay said, giving me a faint smile. "I like that about you."

I couldn't help but smile back at her. I felt a lot better. "You're right. Thanks."

Sharpay leaned over and hugged me. "Anytime Ry," she whispered in my ear then she pulled away. She squeezed my hand once before standing up. "I'm gonna go now. Talk to you later."

"Yeah," I nodded as she headed out the door. I smiled to myself. My smile turned into a frown when I realized something. When Sharpay touched my hand, why did I feel a weird tingling feeling go through my body. I shook the thought away and tried not to think about it.

That wasn't the only time something like that happened. The second time occurred the next week while Sharpay and I were watching the winter musical. It was right before "Breaking Free" during a really romantic scene.

Without knowing it, I had put my arm around Sharpay and leaned against her. She nudged me slightly. I realized what I was doing and quickly sat up straight, blushing like crazy. Why had I subconsciously done that? I didn't know the answer. But I did know that nothing seemed to be making sense lately.

The last time happened the next day. It was Saturday night, and Sharpay was on a date with Zeke, who she's been going out with since callbacks. I was in the living room watching TV. It was about 8:45 PM. I figured Sharpay would be home in an hour or so. I was so wrong.

Not even a minute later I heard the front door bang open. I turned off the TV and looked up to see Sharpay standing there. She had a sad expression on her face and looked like she was about to cry. I instinctively ran over to her and wrapped my arms around her. "Shar, what's wrong?" I asked with concern, although I had a good guess at the answer already.

"Zeke broke up with me!" Sharpay cried. She buried her face into my shoulder and began to sob. My whole body flinched, but I ignored it and held her tightly.

"He just doesn't know what he's missing," I said encouragingly.

"No!" Sharpay exclaimed. "It's not him. It's me! Ryan, what's wrong with me?"

I pulled her away from and looked into her eyes. "Shar, I've known you my whole life, and I can assure you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you," I answered truthfully. I brought her over to the couch so we could both sit down.

"Then why am I all alone? No one cares about me." Sharpay wiped away her tears, but they just came back.

I hated seeing her like this. But at the same time I liked comforting her. It made me feel good. "What about me? I care a lot about," I said in reply to Sharpay's comment. I gave her another hug. "I love you, Shar. You know that. And some day you'll meet some guy and you'll both fall in love."

Sharpay sniffed and looked at me hopefully. "You really think they're something out there for me?"

I gave her a gentle smile. "I know so. You just have to be patient and wait."

Sharpay smiled sweetly and hugged me. "Thanks," she whispered softly. I smiled back at her and nodded. "I better go clean up." She stood up and walked away. I was left there staring after her.

What was weird was that I felt something different when I was with her. It wasn't the usual feeling I got when I comforted her. I don't even know how to explain it. It was just different. And it wasn't like any feeling I've ever had before. It scared me. No, it downright freaked me out. What was wrong with me?