Thank you to everybody who read or left kudos for the last chapter. You're all wonderful.

Reminder Las Vegas is one hour behind New Mexico. Why do I keep writing stories with multiple time zones? This is why I prefer Star Trek, where I can just make stuff up. Rewriting this is making me realize why I mostly write science fiction now.

Chapter 24: The Truth Always Comes out Eventually

November 8, 2008, 7:03 AM grand Beijing Gardens Hotel Las Vegas Nevada

Halfway through Chad's story, Troy decided it was best to let Chad know that he was listening with Kim. "Did you tell Sharpay?" Troy asked his friend in complete shock. "Did you tell Ryan?"

He couldn't believe Darby Evans was cheating on her husband. She just seemed like a nice person when he met her a few summers ago. Then again, he used to think Gabriella was a nice person, and she threw a lamp at him. After finding out what his mom did to Kim, Troy is very aware that no one is what they seem. Poor Ryan and Sharpay. He would hate it if something like this happened to him despite really hating his mom at the moment.

"Not Ryan because I'm not breaking that to him over the phone despite how bad things went with Taylor. Especially not before I tell Sharpay, and I wasn't going to tell her at that moment. You do not want to mess with a pre-show Sharpay. The woman is absolutely scary. I love her, but I can't deal with her when she is like that."

"Trust me, I remember. I was vice president of the drama club with her for two years. It's probably best to avoid telling her anything upsetting until she is less likely to kill people. I'm sure nobody wants a hot cappuccino throne on them. You did tell her after the show?" Kim said as she reached over to Troy's side of the bed and grabbed the phone back.

"Let me finish the story. If I skip around, it just won't make any sense."

XXXX

October 7, 2008, 6:59 PM

In the final moments, before the curtain went up, Sharpay watched the crowd. When she saw Chad and all her friends sitting in the front row, she breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly mouths the words, 'I love you' to Chad. She wished he could stay backstage with her.

Unfortunately, a couple rolls back from Chad was the one person she didn't want to see. She couldn't believe her mom actually brought her boy toy, Jose, with her. Jose's sister (technically half-sister), who he had custody of, was playing the role of the new girl in the interludes. Sharpay was almost positive that Darby was here to see Carmen perform, not her own daughter direct. Darby was only happy when Sharpay was number one. However, no matter how hard she tried, she could never be good enough. After nearly 19 years, she was done trying.

Even though she really wanted her father there, she hoped he couldn't make it. She didn't want him to be humiliated by Darby any more than necessary. Sometimes she wished they would just sign the papers and get this farce of a relationship over with. Her heart started to calm down a bit when Donny and Carmen made their way to the stage.

"I see you're new here at east high. You'll find out quickly that there are a lot of interesting legends at this school." Donny said as the wise upperclassmen to Carmen's new student.

"You mean other than the entire school bursting into song at a basketball game." Carmen's character said sarcastically. "Or were you referring to the incident at the spring dance two years ago that triggered the principal to become obsessed with censorship? I heard he tried to get the Scarlet Letter removed from the AP English curriculum." Sharpay made a point to look at the principle during this scene.

They may have forgotten to remind him that they were using one of the elements from the original play involving an interlude. They just forgot to include this in the script that they gave him to review. Judging by his angry body language, they would probably all be in serious trouble Monday. She really didn't care; he deserved this for taking away their artistic freedom.

"Yes, unfortunately, it's all true. Due to this overzealous censorship, we cannot use any bad language or anything of a sexual nature in the entire play. Even the Prince's Diaries had more kissing." Donny's character said this as he pointed directly at the principal.

"That's sad." Carmen gave a perfect pout.

"However, that tragic tale is not tonight's story. Once upon a time at East High, not as far back as one might think, there was a girl who went to school here who was an absolute bi – wait, I can't say that word here." Everyone in the audience laughed (outside of the principal). Sharpay was relieved.

"Let us just call her a drama queen instead. She was legendary for her temper and her mood swings. Catalina was extremely strong-willed and kept everyone at arm's length. Her aggressive behavior made her really unpopular. However, this girl also had a brother who was a god of high school—Mr. Basketball star himself. Every girl at East High wanted to be with him. Unfortunately, he couldn't date until his sister did." Donny explained on stage.

"So, what happened?" Carmen asked.

"I'm not telling you. You're just going to have to sit back and watch the play."

At that moment, the curtain opens behind Donny and Carmen to uncover a classroom that looks like a replica of Ms. Darbus's room. Unfortunately, during the first 5 minutes of the opening scene, Tiara screwed up the lines of three of her cast members and threw a piece of furniture at someone once. This was definitely going to be a very long show.

XXXX

The short flight to Las Vegas seemed to last forever. Kim was currently avoiding her father while she colored with Alex. The man had yelled at her eight times since he arrived less than an hour ago. Jack was shocked that she didn't start crying. When he started on the ninth round 'of I can't believe you got pregnant at 18', Jack decided to intervene. Carolyn would be so proud.

"Can you please just give her a break? I don't know why you're blaming Kim for everything? My son was there too." Jack asked.

"I am waiting until we get to Las Vegas to talk to your son about knocking up my 18-year-old daughter at 15," Jay replied. Before mumbling something in Korean that Jack didn't understand. It was probably for the best*. Jack was really regretting rejecting Carolyn's offered to come with him to Vegas. Punching out Kim's father would be wrong.

"Why did you keep doing this? There's no point. You can't change the past. They both feel bad for what happened, but now they need to concentrate on taking care of their kid. You placing the metaphorical scarlet letter on their chest is not helping. Just get over it."

Jack is well aware that he probably would be freaking out just as much as Mr. Kim without Carolyn's influence. However, he was there when Carolyn's father forced her to marry someone she didn't really know just because she got pregnant. As soon as Jack got somewhere where he could text Carolyn, he was so talking to her about this. Jack needed her.

"Why Are You Taking Her Side? She's The One Who Kept You Away From Your Grandchild For Two Years." Mr. Kim shouted at him.

"She Was A Scared 18 Year Old. Who Instead Of Getting Support From Her Parents, Was Humiliated And Pretty Much Told To Get Rid Of Her Child If She Ever Wanted Their Love or Support Again."

" I never told her to get an abortion. That was my ex-wife." Jay told him defensively.

"I doubt she really saw a difference. Instead Of Giving In To Their Demands, She Took Care Of Her Child On Her Own For A Year And ½. Until Your Wife Who Treats Her More Like Her Child Then You Ever Had, Managed To Have Her Trust Fund Restored. Because Of You And Your Evil Ex-Wife, Kim Was Too Afraid to Tell Anyone Else About Alex. I Don't Blame Her. I Blame The Adults In This Situation For Not Telling Me What Was Happening. She's not the fuck up, you are." At this point, Jay started yelling at him in Korean. The only thing Jack could make out was the name of Kim's mother. Honestly, that didn't slow things down. They kept arguing until the plane landed, and he begins texting Carolyn.

Jack: Hey, I just wanted to let you know that we landed in Vegas.

Jack: Miraculously, I haven't punched out Kim's father yet. But if they don't get us off this plane soon, that might still happen. I don't remember him being this much of a jackass at parent-teacher conferences.

Carolyn: Do I even wanna know what happened? I thought Vanessa was coming with you, which is why you told me not to go because you only needed one lawyer.

Jack: I am profoundly regretting telling you that now. Vanessa was supposed to come with us, but she has the flu. So she sent her husband instead, and he's a prick. A condescending overprotective prick that I'm pretty sure already made Kim cry at least once. Now I know why she was so mad when she found out he was coming.

Carolyn: That is not good.

Jack: I understand entirely why Kim did not want her father to come. He keeps bringing up the pregnancy. It's been two hours, and I really want to punch him. So badly.

Jack: I haven't wanted to punch somebody out this badly since you caught Charles with Tiffany.

Carolyn: OK, that worries me. I had to take drastic measures to keep that from happening.

Jack: Was that the only reason why you did what you did?

Carolyn: I'm not answering that question until you decide if you're using the divorce lawyer list.

Jack: Fair enough.

Jack: He just won't let go of what happened. He's such a hypocrite. I hate hypocrites. He really did not enjoy me pointing out that he had sex with his wife before the wedding but is furious at Kim and Troy.

Carolyn: You're not that happy about it either because Troy was 15.

Jack: Yes, but I saw your dad making you miserable. I'm not going to do that; it doesn't help. Alex is here, and he's two. It's a little too late to be upset now.

Carolyn: He's very cuddly. Chad keeps sending me videos. I can't wait to meet him at Thanksgiving. He looks so much like Troy.

Jack: His favorite word is also no right now. He threw his pretzels at his granddad Jay before he went back to coloring.

Carolyn: That makes total sense. I bet you enjoyed that.

Jack: So much. Miraculously I may have that video of that.

Carolyn: Which I want a copy of. Try to get a video of Troy meeting Alex for the first time. I'm sure Troy would want that immortalized.

Jack: I will. Kim accidentally checked her phone, or at least she thinks she did. Otherwise, she left it in Albuquerque. So I have to get video for her.

Carolyn: I heard she always has two cameras on her. Anyway, I'm here if you need me. I'll even talk you down from punching out your future in-law.

Jack: I feel like we're already in-laws. Kids are more permanent than marriage. I'm glad I have you to help me get through this.

Carolyn: Lucy is still MIA?

Jack: Yes. Another business trip. She wasn't even there when Kim came to pick me up.

Carolyn: Which was what Kim probably want it.

Jack: The thing is, it's what I want too. I don't want to see Lucy right now. It's been almost a month, and I'm still just as angry as I was when I first found out.

Jack: I didn't even bother to use the teacher conference line on her. I've been happy that she's been missing because that means I don't have to talk to her. We haven't had one dinner together since I found out the truth.

Carolyn: Have you looked at the list yet for yourself?

Jack: I should but not yet. I want to see how Thanksgiving goes. Maybe she'll have a change of heart and will be OK with Alex and Kim.

Jack: Maybe I'm just not ready to let go yet.

Carolyn: I get that. I should've left long before Tiffany.

Carolyn: OK, I shouldn't have gotten married in the first place.

Jack: I wasn't going to say anything.

Carolyn: You were thinking it. I'll be there for you, regardless. Even if I'm going to be dealing with the Charles and Tiffany's situation.

Jack: Charles is a grown-up; he can deal with telling his son that he is now dating the woman that he cheated on his mother with.

Carolyn: Yes, but Chad's my kid, and I'm always going to have his back.

Jack: Not everybody is like you. Mr. Kim is starting on Kim again. Apparently, she chose the wrong toddler backpack.

Carolyn: Go defend your other kid.

XXXXX

"Was it really like this at your high school?" Amanda asked Chad during act four of the play. Catalina just found out that Pedro was only dating her to become basketball captain next year. Jackie was doing an excellent job with Catalina's emotional breakdown.

"Pretty much, except Sharpay decided not to explore the whole social apartheid system that controlled East High until recently," Chad explained.

"I think every high school has that to some degree. Although most schools don't call it apartheid."

"Most schools don't have De Facto social segregation that rivals the US's racial segregation during the Jim Crow era," Chad answered.

"Are you Sharpay's Pedro?" Chad was not expecting her to ask that question. "It's obvious that Catalina is modeled after Sharpay more than Shakespeare's Katherine."

"How did you get that? I thought I was the only other person that saw it." There was a little Troy thrown in there as well, but Chad felt that Pedro was at least 85% him.

"It's easy to notice things when you live with someone for a few months. Are you going to tell Sharpay about what we saw earlier?" Amanda asked, changing the subject.

"After the show. We will decide what to tell Ryan together." As Chad whispered this to Amanda, he felt his phone vibrating. He felt like Ms. Darbus would come down from backstage and get him for having his cell phone on during her performance.

Although she couldn't be mad at him because the message came from her. The phone fell out of his hand before he could see the message telling him to go calm down his girlfriend. Apparently, the British one's sabotage was taking a toll on Sharpay.

He also knew Sharpay looking like a lost little girl every time she peeked her head from behind the curtain to see if her father was there. He didn't want to tell her about what he saw in the parking lot earlier. However, Chad knew he had to.

"I knew you would forget to turn off your cell phone," Ms. Darbus said, only slightly upset.

"You're actually saying that like it's a good thing." Then he saw Sharpay 30 seconds from punching out Tiara. He quickly grabbed Sharpay and dragged her away.

"Come on, Chad, let me kick her ass. You know the bitch deserves it." Sharpay said under her breath. "If you let me beat her up, I promise to play strip basketball with you tomorrow."

"If I let you do that, you'll get an incomplete for this course." And possibly arrested.

"I would suggest you take your girlfriend to one of the dressing rooms to calm her down. However, I don't want a repeat of the garden incident." OK, Chad is 99% sure she just gave him permission to have sex with Sharpay in a dressing room as long as they were safe.

"Why don't you go backstage? The rest of the play takes place in front of the curtain or in the aisle ways of the theater." Young Jason suggested to the couple. Chad was inclined to avoid the dressing room just on principle at this point.

A few moments later, they both sat down on top of the giant teacher's desk.

"Now, why exactly do you want to make Tiara black and blue?" Chad asked.

"She's a power-hungry bitch that is trying to destroy this play because she didn't get her way. This is my punishment for all the things I've pulled in high school." Sharpay told him angrily

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Chad said, looking her straight in the eye.

"Like I need a better reason than that," She said with a little laugh that was obviously forced.

"So it doesn't have anything to do with your dad not being here? Because as someone who has a father that has called him a grand total of two times in three months, I can understand." The truth of the matter was Chad's father was much more of an absentee parent than either Evans parent. His mom did a better job of staying connected even after she moved to DC last winter. He's pretty sure she's already the best of friends with Sharpay's dad, and Jack feeds her all the juicy gossip.

"Trust me, I'm glad daddy had a last-minute meeting. Mommy decided to bring Jose with her," by the way, she said the man's name; Chad was positive that if he showed Sharpay the video right now, she wouldn't be surprised at all.

"Who's Jose?" he asked, grabbing her hand.

"Mommy's special friend, like me, and you were special friends before you broke up with Taylor." Every word she said was filled with pain. "Technically, José is mom's assistant, but I know there's more than that going on even if Ryan thinks José plays for his team. We have a bet about it."

"Why am I just hearing about this now?" Chad asked.

"Do you remember when you were moving into the dorms, and I told you that my parents would probably be divorced if they lived in the same city? I wasn't joking. I found out a couple of months ago about Jose. I'm not even sure if they are really together. It's not like I ever saw them making out in the mansion. Darby just touches him a little too much for him to just be her assistant."

"Considering you called the Kelsi Natasha situation correct despite just going off of what Ryan told you, I think you're calling this situation correctly." Especially because Chad now had video footage.

"Darby is Darby. She will never change. She only cares about herself and her image. You're the only person I told about my suspicions. Not even daddy or Ryan know about it. Well, I tried with Ryan, but I think his crush keeps him from seeing what is actually there. Ryan doesn't always see what's going on."

Considering Ryan didn't see the Kelsi Natasha truth until he caught the two making out on Halloween, Chad could understand.

"Hey, you never know, José may really play for our team. We are very flexible." When in doubt, tell jokes.

"Considering how bad things are between mom and dad, maybe he does know," Sharpay said, leaning into Chad.

"You know you can tell me anything. I'll always be here for you." Chad said, kissing her on the forehead before pulling out his cell phone. He knew he needed to show her now, even though he didn't want to.

"I know,"

"Unfortunately, I have the evidence to prove your suspicions. " Chad said, passing her the phone. He was expecting her to scream or cry. She did nothing, and that scared him the most. She switched into pure ice queen Sharpay mode, and that terrified him. It was her coping mechanism for when things got too much for her.

"Sharpay, say something."

"What am I supposed to say, Chad? Hallmark doesn't make a card for when you find out your mom is screwing someone else that's young enough to be your older brother. What do you have no choice to finally acknowledged that your entire life has been a lie?" She was starting to cry. That was a good sign because it meant she was actually processing.

"It's OK to be upset," Chad said, wiping away her tears. "It's OK to be mad at her. I am mad at her."

"This is such a mess." At this point, Sharpay was so close to him that she was sitting on his lap.

"It will be OK," Chad said, holding her tightly.

"We are going to have to tell dad," Sharpay said with a painful sigh. "He needs to know before we even think about telling Ryan."

"We can tell him at the same time we tell him that you're going to spend Thanksgiving with me hopping from party to party as I try to please both my parents. It will help you prepare for next year."

"And then maybe he'll actually go to New York, and he can tell Ryan."

"It should come from him. Although now, your dad has another reason to hate me. This is worse than when he saw us practically screwing each other in the water fountain."

"Don't worry, we will get through all this together," Sharpay said mockingly as she went in for one of her earth-shattering kisses. It was one of her award-winning 'I wish she would let me take off this outfit' kisses. Complete with tongue and semi inappropriate roaming hands. As his head made contact with the desk, he remembered having a fantasy about doing this with her sometime during senior year.

XXXX

Kim was going to kill Jack and Jay; she just knew it. If it wasn't for her iPod and coloring with Alex, she would be being escorted off the plane by the Air Marshals. She was surprised that the Air Marshals didn't separate Jack and her dad once or twice. Actually, she was surprised that it didn't get physical. Although maybe that was only because it was a short flight. Or because Jack was able to start texting Caroline before they got off the plane. That was like the only moment of peace for the last hour.

Kim was currently walking behind them with Alex by her side. The two were still yelling at each other again after Jack defended her when Jay started to make snide comments about her choice in toddler backpacks. After a few seconds, she felt Alex let go of her hand. She was afraid he would run away again, and she didn't want to chase after him at McCarran International Airport.

Fortunately, he ran right into the arms of his dad. Troy looked the same, yet entirely different. Gone were the last bits of baby fat. In its place was this finely crafted athlete with hard lines and muscles. He still had the same smile and the same eyes that she loved so much. She was completely torn on what to do. Part of her wanted to run over and kiss him. The other half wanted to drag him into the nearest restroom and make good use of her force purchase earlier today. Instead, she just pulled out her camera and started filming. She knew neither option was practical. When it came to Troy Bolton, she never made rational decisions.

XXXX

Due to his flight being overbooked, he ended up having to take a later flight (with some of his other teammates) and barely made it to Kim's gate before she got there. The first thing he noticed was his father and Mr. Kim arguing as they were walking off the plane. He was positive they were so caught up in their argument that they didn't even see him. He received Kim's voicemail in time to prepare himself for dealing with a man that probably hated him. When Mr. Kim gave him an icy glare, he knew they finally saw him.

Troy himself was only concerned with Alex and Kim. Even when she first sent him the video file, he didn't quite think this was all real. However, when he saw that little boy who was a mixture of him and Kim, he realized how truly happy he was to have his son. Alex knew instantly who he was. When he held his son for the first time, he felt an utterly indescribable feeling. He knew he was crying, but he really didn't care.

He knew Kim was waiting patiently on the side, filming everything with her infamous camera. Knowing her, she was trying to give him space to process everything. When he looked over at her a few minutes later, he could see the tears falling from her eyes. With Alex in his arms, he quickly walked over to her.

"Are you OK?" He asked as he pushed her hair out of her eyes as he always did.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you as soon as I found out. I was just so scared." Kim said as her tears began to fall harder. Even though he didn't want to let go of Alex ever, Troy handed him over to his father so he could take care of Kim. She was a crying mess at this point.

"It's OK." He said, wrapping his arms around her.

"No, it's not. You lost two years with Alex because I was so stupid."

Later, when his father asked him what he thought when he decided to kiss his ex-girlfriend, he would have no answer. It was just something that he needed to do. When Kim's lips came together with his, he did get the explanation for why he and Gabriella never made it past second base.

XXXX

November 8, 2008, 6:45 AM Grand Beijing Gardens Hotel, Las Vegas Nevada

"It looks like someone had fun recreating the Airport scene from Love Actually. Seriously, you are just figuring out why you couldn't go all the way with the evil bitch of Stanford." Chad said to his best friend.

"Where's your girlfriend? She needs to throw a pillow at you." Troy remarked.

"I think she's still in the shower."

"By the way, what did Ms. Darbus do to you for doing inappropriate things on her stage?" Kim asked in hopes of ending the other conversation.

"Actually nothing," Troy was not expecting that answer.

"That's not possible. I'm still trying to repress the punishment for the garden incident." Troy said with a shiver. He still remembered what she did to him for the roof incident, a.k.a. when he conceived his toddler.

"Let's just say I received our punishment in a different form. Apparently, you and Kim were not the only ones who recreated a scene from Love Actually."

XXXX

November 7, 2008, 8:56 PM

Ms. Darbus was patiently watching the final scenes of the play. The idea to stage the last few parts of the play in the audience was brilliant. It worked really well. As she watched this final scene, she felt something was missing between Pedro and Catalina. She didn't know why it was perfectly acceptable for students to hit each other in sports, yet she couldn't have one chaste stage kiss in her play. She was positive that the principal was taking the censorship stuff too far. The theater should be a place of free expression.

"How do I know what you're saying is true? Pedro and Catalina did not even kiss." Carmen said to Donny.

"More like couldn't. I told you about the censorship at this school." Donny said with a sigh.

"I still want to see proof." Ms. Darbus didn't remember that line in the rehearsals.

"So maybe what you saw wasn't a completely true story," Donny answered. They were definitely going off-script.

"I knew it wasn't true."

"I didn't say that. Parts of the play were based on reality. The girl's name was not Catalina. However, she was a real student at East High. The names were changed to protect the guilty. The real Catalina was terrified to let anyone see the real her because she was hurt before. One day she met her Pedro, who just happened to already be basketball captain. Contributing factors include a scheming brother and an evil cheerleader. Her Pedro gave her the strength to let people in. His love for her definitely made her a better person, as well as her love for him." Because the new dialogue added something to the show, she let him continue.

"It's a beautiful story, but that doesn't mean it's true," Carmen said skeptically.

"If you don't believe me, look behind the curtain."

At that moment, the curtain was pulled back, revealing Sharpay and Chad on top of the teacher's desk as they engaged in a very passionate kiss. If it were anybody else on stage, she probably would be panicking. Instead, she watched the reactions of those in the theater.

Principal Matsui was currently hyperventilating in the front row. She felt it was what he deserved for taking away their creative freedom. In the second row, Jason Cross was apparently slumped over in his seat unconscious. In the back, Mr. Evans, who finally showed up to the play just in time to see his daughter being fondled by her boyfriend, was actually smiling. His reaction may have something to do with Mrs. Evans screaming in the back row. The audience had no idea that this was not part of the script. Despite the clapping, Chad and Sharpay kept kissing. After a few moments, the curtain was lowered.

"I told you it was true. That is why I believe in true love. If those two can find love, then it is possible for anyone. That is the true lesson of tonight's play."

As the rest of the cast stepped in front of the curtain, Ms. Darbus made her way back to the oblivious couple. Even though they will probably end up with the Principal watching every rehearsal this spring, the ending was worth it. Too bad she probably won't be around this spring to see it.

XXXX

November 8, 2008, 6:55 AM Grand Beijing Gardens Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada

"So that explains why Jason Cross text messaged me about your lack of sanity last night. Apparently, he texted Ryan first, and he was told to go fuck himself." Troy told him.

"Ryan is getting feisty. I'm so proud my baby is growing up. Although that does explain why he congratulated me on kissing his sister on stage. Despite the fact, I had yet to sent him the video. He has it now."

"Do you have any idea the entire auditorium saw your make-out session with Sharpay?" Troy asked. Troy was a little surprised that it actually happened.

"Not until Ms. Darbus pulled us apart. We violated her policy about doing anything on school property. Let's just say, even though I am no longer a student at East High, she is already coming up with creative ways to punish me. Or she would if Taylor's brother Jason didn't take the blame for the entire fiasco." Chad explained.

"I definitely want to know how this happened," Kim said from behind him on the bed.

"Jason was upset that the principal wouldn't allow him to do the play the way he and Sharpay wanted to. He told the principal the entire stunt was a way to get back at me for breaking up with his sister." Chad explained while laughing.

"I thought he was on your side during the breakup?" Troy asked in confusion.

"I know that. You know that. The principal does not. Because Jason McKessie is 12 and had a good reason for his little stunt, he will only get a week's worth of detention. While Sharpay and I got off without punishment because we were setup. Technically because we are not students, it was OK for us to kiss during the play. There was a technicality in the principal's policy that Jason decided to exploit. That boy is scary smart."

"You should be glad he is on your side. I hate to see what he would do to you if he didn't like you." Troy told Chad.

"So am I. So how did things go with the dads after making out at the airport? Chad asked.

"You're not going to let that go?" Kim asked Chad.

"I still want to know if you used Kim's CVS purchase."

"I'm not telling you. After we left the airport, our dads manage to get in a fight in the hotel lobby, the hotel elevator, and a fight at the restaurant so severe that we got kicked out. That's quite remarkable since Kim's grandfather owns the hotel we're staying at."

"Although he kind of hates my dad, so he's probably on an automatic kick out list," Kim remarked.

"At that point, we ditched them for parental bonding with our own child," Troy told his friend.

"Troy, did you and Kim actually do any bonding with your son, or did you just make out the entire time?" Chad asked. Troy could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Not funny. What did Mr. Evans say to you when he saw you fondling his daughter on stage?" Troy asked in response.

"He was actually OK with it and assumed it was part of the play. Not that I could look the man in the eye. I think it would have been easier if he yelled at me. Nothing is more uncomfortable than having cell phone footage of his wife fooling around with someone, as you tried to make small talk with the person. On a lighter note, he felt it was Sharpay's best performance ever, even if it only lasted about a minute." Chad explained.

"That must have been a wonderful boost to her ego," Troy said sarcastically.

"Sharpay is happy about it. The production was considered the best in East High history, even better than last year's senior year production. Everyone loved the "surprise" ending. This means she's most likely going to get an A for her time at EHS."

"She was going to get an A no matter what." Kim retorted.

"Now she's probably going to get an A-plus. The fact that she got to be in the play in any way was just a bonus for her. Darby was the one who completely threw a fit. I cannot repeat the things she said to me because Alex could be listening. In a few hours, I'm going to have brunch with Mr. Evans and Darby, knowing that Darby hates me and is screwing around on her husband."

"And she doesn't even know about you making out with her son," Kim remarked.

"Because she thinks her little ducky is heterosexual. I'm also going to have to not mention the breakup with Kelsi. Therefore, I win for the most complicated weekend."

"I want to hear everything Darby said. I doubt Alex will overhear us; he is sleeping in the other room. We would still be asleep if you didn't wake us up." Kim said in annoyance.

"I'm sorry I… You're sleeping in the same bed?" Chad asked in surprise. Troy was almost positive that Chad finally figured out what he and Kim did last night or rather early this morning.

"You and Sharpay sleep in the same bed all the time and are not having sex." Kim pointed out quickly.

"I didn't mention sex; you did. You had sex last night!" Chad said with a scream as he finally got it.

"I think I hear Alex crying. Got to go." Kim said as she ends the call.

"You do realize he's going to be a lot more suspicious now?" Troy said as he played with the sheet covering Kim's body.

"I don't care," Kim said just before her lips descended on his.

XXX

In the meantime, at Evans Manor.

Eavesdropping on other people's conversations has always been Sharpay's favorite thing to do when bored or stressed. She was definitely stressed now, thinking about how to tell her dad about what Chad saw last night. At first, she thought Chad was talking to Kim, but he heard him say Troy's name a lot. For a while, Sharpay just assumed he was using conference calling. However, when she heard Chad talking about the two kissings at the airport, she got really confused. However, the moment of clarity came a few minutes later, with one very simple line. "Troy, did you and Kim actually do any bonding with your son, or did you just make out the entire time?"

At that moment, a million different things started to make sense. Sharpay now understood why Chad helped Kim so much with Alex; he would do anything for Troy's son. She now knew why Kim knew so much about Troy. Most importantly, Sharpay knew why Alex had Troy's eyes. As she heard Chad yelling because Troy and Kim hang upon him, she decided to confront Chad. She slowly walked over to her boyfriend, only wearing an oversized towel.

"So exactly how long have you known that my so-called best friend is fucking Troy Bolton and had his kid?"

To be continued…

In this chapter and the last, the flashbacks tell us the story of what happened. However, they are not the same as the story that Chad and Kim are telling each other. This should be evident by the fact you see some scenes from the perspective of Ryan, Jack, and others. So congratulations, you know more about what's going on than some of the characters do.