Disclaimer: I wish I owned Zac Efron. Just not the movie!

Chapter 5

Troy looked around. He was still in the Nurse's Office. Sharpay was sleeping in the chair next to him. "Troy?" Came a voice from the door. "Are you okay, man?" Troy turned around to see Chad leaning up against the door frame.

"I've been better," he laughed. Sharpay stirred next to him but did not wake up.

"Good." Troy looked bad. Chad just couldn't upset him like that.

"Something wrong?" questioned Troy, suddenly getting worried.

"Yeah, but I'll tell you later," laughed Chad. With that he left.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHS

Sharpay stirred in her sleep. A terrible dream played like a movie in her head. She looked around but there was no one else around her, as she lay on a bed. Sharpay attempted to stand but found that she was strapped to the bed. Suddenly she heard a voice echoing around the room. Gabriella danced into the room in the costume she wore for Twinkle Town, singing her part of Breaking Free. Sharpay tried to call out to her but sound escaped her lips. She tried to scream and began to trash around trying to break free. But then she felt a hand slid into hers and another touched her shoulder. Then a familiar voice echoed through the room. "My Beautiful Angel . . ." he said as he untied her. Once he had her on her feet, Troy bent down and kissed her.

Crying erupted from a part of the room. Sharpay broke off the kiss and turned around to see Gaby, angrily screaming at her. "I thought you changed Sharpay! You're still nothing but an Ice Queen!" More cries erupted as the faces of her classmates materialized around her. They screamed and cried hurtful words but just as Sharpay went to run out of the room, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her gently towards them. Troy stared down at her and said, "My beautiful angel, We're all in this together." She smiled. She was now awake.

She wanted so badly just to jump into him and have him hold her. She knew just how much he had changed her at that moment. The entire year last year, she would have grabbed any opportunity to take Troy. Now, she held back, knowing how much it would hurt Gabriella.

Troy seemed to see the hesitation in her face, because instead of kissing her again, he took her hand, looked into her eyes, and said, "Thank you, for being there when I needed you most."

Troy thought about how many times Sharpay had helped him over the summer, how much she had changed, and how long she must have been waiting there for him. And Gabriella was no where on sight. He knew who to choose now, even if it wasn't who everyone else thought.

He started to lean in to kiss her, but the opening of the door stopped him. He looked up to see Gabriella and Ryan walking in together. As in together. Holding hands.

When Gabriella saw Troy looking at her hand, she quickly untangled it from Ryan's and ran over to Troy. Shooting a cold glance at Sharpay, Gabriella threw her arms around Troy in a friendly, but not romantic, hug. She then pulled back saying, "I'm sorry for not staying. I was too upset." Troy felt a sudden rush of sympathy toward Gabriella when he saw that both girls faces were streaked with tears.

"Yeah, well I think I need to get back to sleep. See you later. My head hurts. Yeah."

Gabriella just nodded, and then left with Ryan. Sharpay took his hand again, and Troy leaned in to kiss her again. This time, she didn't stop him. She melted into his arms and let him hold her.

Troy called Gabriella and they walked around the high school. "Hey how are you?" Gabriella asked.

"Fine." He said brushing it off quickly. They weren't here to talk about Troy's embarrassing episode that morning. "Gaby, remember when we started singing on that stage?" he, asked leading her into the auditorium.

"Yeah, that was the best thing that happened to me then." Troy lead Gabriella onto the stage. He took a deep breath, and before he could say anything, they both noticed the sheet music for 'Breaking Free' scattered on the floor. The flood of memories rushed into his mind and he knew he had to get it over with before he became "too sensitive"

"Gaby, I think we should end this. I feel like I'm holding you back. I see the way you look at Ryan. I don't want to keep you from what you want. Things change, and so do people." It came out like one big sentence, but Troy knew she understood every word.

All she had to say before she left was, "You're a really nice guy Troy." She placed the necklace he her into his palm, and walked away, shaking. Troy was a little shaken himself, but he knew it was for the best.