Disclaimer: It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.
Author's Note: Holy cow, have I been having trouble uploading to FF. I've been ready with this second chapter forever and the document manager just won't let me update! Not that it makes much difference to you all, just thought I'd share my frustration a little.
Also, since FF doesn't keep track of the dates each chapter was uploaded, I think I'll start adding those into each chapter from now on, for curiosity's sake. That doesn't make much difference to you all either, but just thought I'd let you know what I'm up to, again.
Written June 24, 2006
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Chapter 2 – The Visit
By the time she finally got to bed, Sharpay had decided she would stay away from Zeke the whole day tomorrow, and use the time to clear her head. She'd make plans to see him in the morning before she flew out, and she felt that this would be enough time to talk it all through. I knew this because she kept repeating it to me as I got the extra blankets out for her.
"Besides," she said, as I helped her unfold the sofabed out. "I'm coming back next weekend, and he's flying out in two weeks. So there's plenty of time for us to talk. Right?"
Over at the sink, Troy caught my eye as he washed the dishes. He made a show of nodding fake-seriously, smiling at me.
I narrowed my eyes playfully at him for a split second. "Of course," I said to Sharpay, making the bed up and turning the corner lamp on. "It'll be just enough. Now, you really should get some sleep. You look pretty tired."
She looked at me for a second, then at the bed bathed in the warm light of the lamp. Then suddenly, she hugged me, squeezing me with genuine warmth. "Thanks so much, Gabi. For everything."
I caught a glimpse of Troy again over her shoulder, grinning as if to say See, we're doing a good thing here. I narrowed my eyes at him again. "No problem," I said, hugging her back.
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I hit the bathroom to get ready for bed while Troy finished up in the kitchen. When I came out, I found him already sprawled on his side under the covers, idly flipping through a magazine. I crawled in beside him, and he put the magazine away, gently reaching around my waist to pull me close. He'd already taken off his shirt—he liked to sleep in just his underwear—and my body pressed lightly against his chest, his skin warm on mine.
He kissed me on the forehead and grinned. "Okay, okay," he said, moving a few strands of hair out of my face. "I know you're not exactly happy with this. But thanks for being so cool about it."
"It's okay," I said. "But you could have asked me first, you know."
"Yeah, well…" He sighed. "I don't know. I've known Sharpay since elementary school, you know? And now she's away from home, and not having such a good time. I feel kind of obligated to help out, if I can." He looked at me. "I mean, if it were you… wouldn't you want to be somewhere that felt kind of safe?"
He was way too good. I felt like a jerk. "I guess."
"Well." He kissed me on the cheek. "I'd want you to be safe, anyway."
"Sure you would," I said, snuggling into him. "If it were life or death, you'd throw me to the wolves the first chance you had."
"Yeah, in a heartbeat, Montez," he said, snorting out a laugh. "Anyway, this is just for one night. She's going to stay at a hotel tomorrow night, anyway."
I looked at him. "She is?"
"That's what she said before she turned in."
"Well… okay."
I kissed him quickly, then turned around and snuggled into my pillow. He snapped off the light and spooned me from behind, his arm tight around my waist. I lay there for a moment, comfortable in his embrace, and then spoke up quietly again.
"I hope it all works out. They seemed so happy at the reunion. And in the paper."
"Yeah." He sounded tired, but genuine. "I hope so too."
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I got up late the next day to find the bed empty—but that wasn't unusual, even on a Sunday. He always got up early to run in the mornings, which always made me feel like a slacker. Sure enough, when I put on my bathrobe and opened the bedroom door, there he sat at the kitchen table, already eating a PopTart and reading the newspaper.
He looked up and smiled. I wandered over and kissed the top of his head before I sat down beside him.
"Morning," he said. "Or afternoon, I probably should say."
"Afternoon?" Glancing over at the wall clock in the living room, I groaned. It read 1:30. But looking over there, I realized Sharpay was gone. I looked at Troy and he nodded.
"She left at noon. Wanted to go shopping, have lunch, walk around, figure things out."
"Oh." I felt kind of bad for not seeing her off. "Well… I hope everything's okay."
"I think so," he said. "She looked a lot better before she left. Even ate a PopTart."
I snorted. "She ate a PopTart? Maybe she's doing worse than you think."
"Hey, I wouldn't talk," he said, shaking his head as he turned back to the paper. "I know you've been sneaking them. My supplies have been dwindling ever since you got here."
"Okay, maybe I've eaten a couple," I said. "But I still haven't enjoyed them. I'd take a good Toaster Strudel over a PopTart any day."
He looked up, incredulous. "Blasphemy, Montez."
I wound up eating instant oatmeal for breakfast… or lunch, whatever it was by now. Then after a shower, I took the laundry down to the basement. I came back leisurely, stopping to have a chat about the noisy tenants on the second floor with our neighbour Mrs. Robles. And when I finally opened the front door… Sharpay was back again.
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And this time she was sobbing openly, clinging to Troy as she stood just inside the front door. He shot me a look of alarm as I walked in. Holding her as she cried, he seemed to be the only thing keeping her upright. This time, I went to her immediately.
"Hey, hey," I said, touching her shoulder. "It's okay. Come sit down. Tell us what happened."
Pulling away from Troy, she turned to me tearfully. I put my arm around her and took her over to the couch, where she collapsed onto my shoulder. I made a pouring motion at Troy and he nodded, going over to the kitchen to start the kettle boiling.
Through the tears, the story started to emerge. Sharpay had shopped, had lunch, had felt like she had cleared her mind… and since she was in the neighbourhood, she stopped by Zeke's earlier than scheduled.
"He… he was happy to see me, because he didn't know where I was," she said, sniffing. "But… after that, I started to tell him what I thought. What was negotiable, what wasn't. I told him I needed him to sign the agreement, to protect both of us. And… he couldn't look at me. He wouldn't."
Troy sat down across from us, handing Sharpay a mug of steaming herbal tea. Sharpay closed her hands around the cup and took a deep breath.
"He said… he said… he thought he had made himself clear. That he was going into this marriage because he loved me… and he trusted me. And if I still didn't trust him… then maybe he was right yesterday. That we... shouldn't be thinking of making a commitment like this. Not yet."
"And I started to cry… and I said that wasn't fair to say that… and he said a prenup wasn't fair to him… and then I asked, so what does that mean? What does that mean for us now, if he thinks we shouldn't commit, and I can't commit without this piece of paper?"
She closed her eyes, and tears started to roll down her cheeks again.
"And he said… maybe we should take a break for a while. While I'm in Albuquerque. Maybe I shouldn't come out next weekend. We'd just wait, and think about things, and we'll talk again when he comes back out to see me in a few weeks."
She started to sob again, putting the tea down on the table before she spilled it. "The wedding's supposed to be in six months," she said. "I don't know what I'm going to do."
I put my arms around her, and glancing over, I saw Troy looked faintly stricken. I nodded my head slightly at him.
"You'll figure it out, Sharpay," I said. "You love him, and he knows that. You'll find a way." I took a deep breath. "And… you're welcome to stay here with us again tonight. If you want."
"Oh you guys…" I could feel her nod into my shoulder, and her arms squeezed me tightly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
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