Disclaimer: I don't own HSM, but I really wouldn't mind owning Lucas Grabeel even though he is 21 and I'm only 15. Damn…

Chapter 3: Ice Queen

Ryan and Gabriella sat on the hood of his convertible, eating ice cream. Swirling her ice cream around with her spoon, Gabriella said, "Why are you doing this for me?"

Ryan looked at her and then back at his bowl. "I feel sorry for you," he explained.

Her face fell. "That's it?"

He looked up at her. "That's only half of it. Since after the Winter Musical auditions, I've considered you and Troy my friends."

"I guess you might say that."

"And I don't like seeing my friends upset."

She smiled and looked back down at her ice cream.

Ryan scooped up a spoonful of his ice cream and looked at Gabby. "Have you ever tried this kind before?" He asked her. When she shook her head in response, he held out his spoon and said, "Try it."

She leaned over and took a bite. After swallowing, she said, "That's good."

"My favorite," he replied with a smile. At the same time, they each glanced over at the other and turned back quickly, a little embarassed. They turned back to each other and started leaning in.

Sharpay, who had been watching from her car nearby, scoffed and rolled her eyes. She got out and walked up to her brother. "Ryan," she said peppily, "there you are. I was wondering where you were. Mom needs you at home."

"Oh," Ryan said, his smile fading. "I'll be there right after I drive Gabby home."

Thinking quicker than she normally does, Sharpay replied, "No, Mom needs you now. I'll drive her home."

Ryan looked to Gabriella who was silently begging him not to have Sharpay drive her. But he didn't want to get into trouble. "Okay." He shot her a sympathetic look as she got off the hood of his car and he drove off.

Gabriella climbed into the passenger side of Sharpay's pink convertible. They drove in silence until about halfway to Gabriella's house. Sharpay pulled onto the shoulder and turn off the engine.

"What are we doing?" Gabriella asked, looking at the surroundings.

Sharpay turned to her. "Listen here, Princess," she snapped. "I know that it must be heartbreaking to lose your boyfriend to someone as fabulous as I am but do yourself a favor, stay away from my brother. He's not interested. He just feels sorry for you. So back off. Now get out."

Gabriella got out and slammed the door as hard as she could. She slumped down to the ground, tears falling, as Sharpay drove off.

Sharpay entered her house and found her brother coming down the stairs. "Hey, Ry," she said in a bored tone.

"You know, Pay," he replied, coming farther down the stairs, "I talked to Mom. She said that she hadn't seen you all day. She didn't need me here. You wouldn't know anything about that, now would you?"

"No, my mistake," she lied.

He walked past her. "Well, Gabby left her backpack in my car. I'm going to go drop it off."

"Fine by me." She walked up the stairs and out of his sight. "Shit…" She muttered.

Gabriella stood up and started walking towards her house. There was no point in sitting on the side of the road. Dejected, she dragged her feet as she went down the road.

A thought hitting her, she turned around. "Where is my backpack?" She asked herself. "Crap…"

There was a car coming her direction. Ignoring it, she continued walking. The car honked at her and she stopped, spinning around. Ryan's car was pulling to the side of the road and he got out.

"Ryan, what are you doing here?" Gabriella asked.

"I could ask you the same thing, Gabby," he replied. "Didn't Sharpay take you home?"

She laughed. "Yeah right, she ditched me halfway there. She was ranting on about how I need to leave you alone and that you were only being nice to me because you felt sorry for me."

"Sharpay doesn't know anything," he assured her. "It's a good thing you left your backpack in my car."

"Oh, I thought I might've left it in Sharpay's car."

"Come on, get in. I'll drive you home."

AN: Grrr…. Sharpay… Anyways, please R&R!