You know what I realized?

Everybody has a birthdayyy.

Y'know, like Ashley Tisdale. Today.

That's where this idea came from.

June 27th

11:34 AM

Sharpay's Bedroom

She shattered. Into a million pieces, the pieces of her slicing deep into him, drawing him out, spilling him. He spilled. Until he was empty, and she drank him in, in every aspect, in every way. A sharp gasp, a caught throat, and he tightly took fistfuls of her sheets into his hands, his knuckles turning a deadly white. Sweat kissed bodies, knocking heartbeats, and some things that are best left in her bed.

"Was that my birthday present?"

"Hell yeah. What could be better than being in bed with me?"

"I don't know, maybe a nice night out, dinner, you know, something normal."

Wild ceruleans tickled by shaggy burnt sienna. Blazing chocolates dusted by the golden sun. She had promised. He had always been able to lose himself in pools of chocolate and she would say, "No strings attached." and he would feel that he was taking advantage of her, but the way she touched him, the way his reactions burned, the way one thing always led to the next...

"But... I..."

"I know what I said, okay? No pressure."

A content, relieved sigh. An aching, impatient heart. He had broken her. She had always been able to chase after him endlessly, and he would say, "It sucks." and he would feel that she was being deceitful, but he was a taste of what she truly desired, and she just continued to hope that it would all count in the end, that she would get what she wanted...him...

"Well, happy seventeenth anyway."

"Yeah. Thanks."

The sun, the sun that could so quickly be mistaken for the tendrils of hair that gracefully blanketed him stretched into its position in the sky. Darkness turned to light. Their secret in desperate need of hiding until night cloaked them again. He sat up in bed at the alarming buzz of his cell phone. The ID flashed the fateful name he didn't want to see. At least in that moment.

"I should go."

"No, not yet. Just... stay a little longer... please?"

He wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to.

"I can't. I have to..."

"It'sokayIunderstandjustleave."

Her words were so rehearsed. He watched as she drew her knees up to her chest, the morning sun settling on her shoulder. Here, she looked so empty, so ransacked. She caved so easily, only to soften each blow. In that moment, she was a window, every part of her dancing underneath the surface. He knew it all. He saw it all, and yet...

"I love Gabriella."

"I didn't want to hear that."

"Happy birthday, Sharpay."

"Thanks, Troy. Please, just go now."

And he did. It was all that was left to complete the cycle. But always. He always left taking a piece of her never to be returned.

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June 27th

1:34 PM

Troy's Foyer

"Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I called you this morning and..."

"I'm fine."

Gabriella soundly pressed a kiss to Troy's cheek, wrapping her arms around his torso. The bright pastel colors of the banner he attempted to hang up toyed with his pupils, stimulated the senses. And all he could think of was her, just as bright, just as stimulating. She blazed, she burned, she left him twisted and distorted. Every time. There had to be a way to bend him back into shape, realign him. Somehow...

"I'm so excited! She's going to be so surprised. This was such a great idea, wasn't it?"

"Of course. Your ideas are always amazing."

Smiles. Bright, sickening smiles that pulled at the lips, made the mouth ache. Smiles that were so feigned, that masked the true feeling, the true fire behind. He pinned the banner to the wall, turning away from it, observing his friends as they milled across his foyer, streamers, balloons, sodas, presents in hand. All of this for a person who ached, but truly deserved it.

"You're never going to believe this!"

An alarmed friend grabbed her attention. Just by the negativity that threaded Taylor's voice, they knew, they all knew something was wrong.

"She said... she said she can't make it, that she's just not in a good mood. She called and told me that we should 'go to the movies' without her."

"What? No! This ruins everything..."

Suddenly eyes were turned to him. Even his girlfriend looked to him with hopeful eyes.

"Go talk to her."

"Wha-? I can't, she said..."

"C'mon, she'll listen to you. Please? We set all of this up, just for her..."

He couldn't. He had just broken her, once again, and to go back there and try to pull her out of her misery as if nothing had happened...? He couldn't. But he did want to see her again, not get into anything complicated or emotional, he thought of how nice it would be just... to be with her.

But before Troy could process any more of his thoughts, he was being pushed out of his own front door.

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June 27th

1:56 PM

Sharpay's Front Door

"What do you want?"

Only three hours before, she had been so vulnerable. Only one night ago, she had been so eager. And now, she was completely frozen over. She impatiently twisted her doorknob, waiting for the right moment to slam the door in his face.

"I... just... what's up with you?"

"What's up with me?"

Everything. Nothing. There were just some things that she wanted to spill to him, despite being bound by another girl, but she couldn't. She had promised him no strings attached, and she was diligent to her word, for the sake of both of their hearts.

"Why aren't you coming to the movies with us?"

"I just... I'm not up to it today, alright?"

"Of course you are! It's your birthday."

"Just... can you please leave?"

Slowly, the face of the door widened. Slowly the door closed. But he was tired of being pushed away when he tried to help. He was tired of her latching on to him when he was needed elsewhere. He was tired of this game that they played, and in that moment between his hand stopping the door and grabbing her wrist, he was ready to choose.

"You're coming with me."

"What the hell do you think- hey! Put me down!"

Her tiny frame struggled in his arms as he maneuvered down the walkway and back to his car. He shifted her weight over his shoulder where she continued her fight, nails tearing across his back, fists pounding into his shoulderblades.

And as he slid her into his front seat, she gave one last frustrated grunt. As he slammed the car door shut, the ferocity that grew in her eyes was enough to ignite the interior of his car in flames. As he slammed on the gas, his stomach slamming against his ribcage in anticipation, she whispered.

"Troy Bolton, I swear, I'm going to kill you."

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June 27th

2:24 PM

Troy's Driveway

She had noticed that they had passed the movie theater twelve minutes before. She had noticed that he made no mention of what movie she and her friends were going to see. She pressed her forehead against the glass of her window, observing the closed curtains and dark windows of his house.

"What are we doing here?"

"I...um. I forgot my wallet. Want to come inside while I get it?"

"Not particularly."

He slammed his eyes shut and eased out a frustrated sigh. Now she was being difficult. All he wanted was for this stupid surprise to go well, and she was making the entire process difficult. He pulled his keys out of the ignition and impatiently ran a hand through his hair.

"Please... just. Just come inside."

"Why are you so antsy to get inside?"

"Quit asking questions. Come. In. Side."

"What, you want to get in my pants again, Bolton? Twice in one day?"

He flinched at the thought of his girlfriend ever finding out about their secret. He could already see her heart shattering. The tears, the cries the screams...

"You should have just asked."

And before he could wrap his mind around what was going on, she was unbuckling her seatbelt, that mischevious smile taking over her face as she maneuvered toward him.

"Wait... what?! No, I..."

"Of course you can..."

Ugh. Her whispers, so taunting, so secretive. This was what he had always wanted... but... here? Now? His throat locked as she nibbled a burning line from the back of his earlobe down to his collarbone, shifting all of her weight onto his lap. He thought of everyone inside of his house, he thought of his girlfriend crouched down behind a couch, giggling in anticipation of seeing the surprised look on Sharpay's face. And he was out here? Subconsciously fighting with himself over whether he should give in?

Temperatures rose, practically fogged the windows of his car as she nuzzled her lips against his struggling Adam's apple. He struggled to breathe, struggled to exist, struggled to keep his thoughts in order, but soon tiny hands were exploring him and all chances of being able to control himself were thrown out of his sunroof.

"Your heart is beating a million miles an hour..."

"I..."

He let out a strangled groan, the world he once had control over spun quickly. Her hands. They were in places that they shouldn't be, dammit. It took all of him, every percent of him to harness some of his sense. This is exactly what she did to him every time, all the time. He got to comparing his current relationship to what he had straddling him at that very moment. He thought about her fire and his girlfriend's shyness. He thought about Sharpay's confidence and Gabriella's step all over me if you want to kind of attitude. And he finally came to the one conclusion that would determine his heart: What did he want? What did he really want?

"Let's go inside..."

Slamming car doors, tiny giggles, closed curtains.

"Is anybody home?"

"Just us."

Jingling keys, unlocked doors, dark corridors.

"Why is it so dark?"

"No reason."

The front door suddenly slammed shut, thanks to Sharpay agressively shoving Troy against it. And as she picked up where she had started, as they both attempted to shatter and spill again, any state of sanity that Troy had attempted to hold on to suddenly vanished. How could he forget? How could he not remember that only a few yards away, hidden under a desk or in the front closet, was his other half, his own girlfriend? How could he let this happen in her very presence?

Maybe it was because Sharpay was so damn addictive. Maybe it was the way her lips assaulted his. In this moment in time, in this very instant, while hearts pounded and hands roamed... was he ready to make a choice?

In that split second between his thoughts and the time that his life came to a crashing hault, time slowed. The blinding white lights of his house scratched at their eyelids, the alarming shout of their friends, tearing them away from each other...

"SURPRISE!"

The cheer that was supposed to be so heartwarming, so friendly was suddenly brought to a hush by the sight before them. It echoed, entering each mind again.

"Oh, mygod..."

"Troy what are you doing?"

"Dude! With Sharpay?"

Statements, spoken thoughts, they all began to overlap each other. They were suffocating, and both Troy and Sharpay felt as if they were being backed into a corner, their peers closing in. She felt so bare. He felt so ashamed. She felt so stained. He felt so horrible. She looked to him, his face drained of color, his eyes wild and unfocused. They were trained on one person and one person only.

"Troy?"

"Gabriella, I..."

Her eyes wandered to the banner overhead, screaming with neon colors: Happy Birthday, Sharpay! She suddenly felt so unworthy. How could she have done this to a person who truly cared? Who had gone out of her way to make Sharpay's birthday special, and she repays her by... sleeping with her boyfriend?

But... what did she want?

Troy Bolton, of course.

But being in that very scenario, seeing Gabriella push past her new ex-boyfriend and his blonde secret out the front door, Sharpay didn't know what she wanted anymore. Summer breeze came through the front door, and despite the wind being so peaceful, it was the only noise in the room.

Was it too late to purge an apology?

Was it too late to pretend nothing had happened?

Was it too late to stumble over an excuse?

Of course it was.

"I've ruined everything." Sharpay's voice had a dangerous quiver to it. Her throat burned, and her lashes fluttered rapidly, indicating that the tears were coming next. There, in front of one hundred onlooking, shellshocked eyes, Sharpay cried for the first time.

And that, in itself, even beyond barging in on East High's king cheating on his sugary-sweet girlfriend was everyone's biggest surprise.

I have one more idea, for June, but I don't think I'm going to post it.

Cool beans?

Later, Sherlock.