CHAPTER ONE

Summer At An End

The summer air still blew as if it was just coming. The truth was: it was going. The Lava Springs Resort was watching people leave its premises. Of course, they would be getting their fall and winter customers probably on the first day of September. The kids of East High School had been working hard since the talent show night. Many of them realized how important it was for them to buckle down and save some money for college, gas, stuff for senior year, and so on. The tension between them that began when they were hired had also been relieved.

Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez had tried mending their relationship after the show, but, they seemed to keep gaining more issues than before. They couldn't get along like they used to. It saddened them greatly, of course. Everyone had seen them as the best pair, and they were going to be voted "Cutest Couple" for the Senior Superlatives in the yearbook. Not to mention, Troy was not feeling the same anymore; he was getting mixed emotions, and his attention was slowly becoming focused on someone else. It was clear that the two would have to call it quits eventually. But, the question was, "When?"

Ryan Evans had spent the rest of his summer preparing for school. The trophy he won was quickly placed in the glass cabinet with the rest of them. He and Sharpay made up and had gotten countless massages, lounged by the pool in their shades, and just enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the summer.

To Ryan, Gabriella was nothing romantic. She was just a friend. But really, the whole time people thought he was "crushing" on her, he had his eyes on someone else. He never told anyone this secret that he'd been keeping for a last time. Half of it, he kept his whole life, the other, he kept for only a year so far. He planned on telling at the beginning of his senior year, as he didn't want it to be a complete lie. Hmm...how would that turn out?

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LAVA SPRINGS RESORT

Sharpay & Ryan

One-by-one, men began carrying Sharpay and Ryan's luggage out from the back rooms, and brought them to her car, packing them in the trunk. Her pink convertible sat outside, top down, and running with the air condition blowing. Apparently, she didn't care if it wasted her gas, she could always get more! Sharpay smiled back to Mr. Fulton and then sighed, looking impatient all of a sudden. She turned back to the door that she had entered from and called, "RYAN! I'M LEAVING!" She then began to strut to the door.

Behind her, a blonde-haired male followed quickly. "I said I was coming! I had to find my hat to match," said Ryan, her twin brother. He waved to Fulton and then looked around at the scene of the Resort once more. "Ahh, I'll miss it until December. But, for now, we have to go. I cannot wait to get home." He opened the door to the pink convertible, sat inside, and then looked to his sister who sat in the driver's seat. "Oh, and I have to talk to you about something during the ride."

Sharpay looked at him with a confused look (well, as confused as it could be with those big sunglasses on her face). "About what? The musical?" she asked, putting the car in gear to drive. Ryan answered, "Uh, sure." He didn't sound very sure about it, though. It looked like it was bothering him -- as if he had been wanting to say it for a very long time. Hopefully, his sister didn't pick that up.

"Um...okay?" Sharpay said, turning on the radio. The tune of 'Bop To the Top' from the previous year's musical played, starring their voices. She moved her head along to the rhythm, and sang along half-heartedly, paying attention to the road and playing with a lock of her hair, twisting it around her finger. Ryan stared at her, trying to get out the words to the song, but, something clenched his throat. He needed to tell her now.

"Shar?" he blurted.

"Yes?" she answered.

"I...um...you know how everyone thought I was, like, in love with Gabriella this summer?"

"Uh, yeah."

Ryan took a breath, finding the words for his next statement. "Well, they were wrong. I wasn't."

"Great," Sharpay said, as if she didn't care.

"The reality was, I couldn't be. You know why?" His face was reddening.

"Why?" She pulled her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose, looking at her brother, taking random quick glances at the road so she didn't veer off of it.

"Because...I-I'm...I'm gay." There! He said it. The ball in his chest suddenly disappeared, and went through his throat and out his mouth. It was finally gone!

Sharpay didn't seem phased. She actually looked at him as if he were retarded, and put her glasses back up. Her head turned back to the road in front of her, and she turned up the volume to the song. Ryan turned it back down and said, "Shar? Hello?" His sister rolled her eyes and answered, "You have to be pretty stupid to not know that, Ryan. I have known that FOREVER. You played with my goddamned Barbie dolls when we were growing up. And let me guess, you're in love with Troy Bolton too?"

She guessed it. Ryan smiled and wanted to hug his sister. "YES! Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you don't hate me. I was so scared," he confessed with glee. Sharpay smiled and said, "Ryan, I could never hate you. This just means you're the real sister I always wanted. Not that you weren't before, I mean, we shop together Christ's sake. You're probably a better sister than a girl would be, anyway." They both laughed and continued their drive back to Albuquerque.

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ALBUQUERQUE

Troy & Ryan

SWOOSH!

The sound of the basketball hitting the ground gently came to Troy Bolton's ears as he made a shot while humming "What I've Been Looking For". His thoughts, surprisingly were not on Gabriella, but on someone else whom he was not ready to accept or admit to. He dribbled a few times before his phone rang. Placing the ball down, Troy answered the cell phone, hearing Mrs. Montez's voice coming from the background.

"Hello?" asked Gabriella's familiar voice. He didn't feel as excited to hear it like he used to. It somewhat upset him.

"Hey," Troy replied bluntly.

"There's something we need to talk about."

The sound of her voice made him unsure. "What?" he asked, feeling his stomach get lighter.

"I don't know what's going on between us anymore, Troy. You're not my basketball hero I met during the Christmas Holidays."

"Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"See? That's what I'm talking about," Gabriella declared, her tone becoming more angry.

"What? I - ugh, - what are you saying?" Troy was becoming more angry as well, his tone was aggressive and demanding. He didn't understand anything that was happening. One minute, he was playing a game of volleyball thinking about...someone...and the next, he was getting broken up with by Gabriella. Why did everything want to change in his life?

"I think we're over, Troy. We're just not working anymore. Don't you see it?" He did. He had known weeks ago, while they were still at Lava Springs, having their usual late picnics.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. What, did you find someone else or something?" he asked, trying to turn the situation around on her so all the guilt didn't set on him. He knew it was his fault, and he couldn't help it.

"Troy! Of course I didn't! I - I just don't think we're working out! See? This is why! Look, I have to go. I can't do this right now." The also familiar sound of the buzz on the phone, which signified she hung up, came to his ear and he followed suit. Once he put his phone in his pocket, Troy Bolton sat down on the bench and sighed. For some reason, he wasn't as upset as he expected. The feeling in his stomach went away, and the "other" person came back to mind, and he began to rub his temples, trying to sort his thoughts. Senior year was not going to be easy.

"Troy!" called his mother from inside the house, "Come inside now, please. We're going to have dinner, and you're starting school again tomorrow." This was all true. He was beginning another chapter of his life at East High School. He was single, jobless, lifeless, and gay. What? Gay?! When did that happen?