here's another chapter. i hope you like it. thanks veryy much for the reviews. it means a lot to me. at least some people like what i do,. love you guys! euge
"Hey Chad" Troy said
"Troy! What's up man?" Chad said as happy as usual
"Uhm, nothing" he said looking both ways of the hallway "Have you seen…?"
"Gabriella?" Chad said before Troy could finish
"Not her. Sharpay"
"Sharpay?" Chad repeated not believing his ears. Troy nodded "Dude why are you looking for her?"
"Uhm, nothing important really. Just wanted to know" he said not paying much attention and still looking for her
"You just wanted to know where the Ice Queen was?" Chad frowned
"Don't call her like that!" Troy said angry
"What? Why not dude? You call her like that too!" he accused Troy
Troy shook his head "Not anymore"
"Ok. I don't know what's gotten into you and I don't want to know right now but we should go to home room. We've got the Hamlet thing to do and Darbus we'll kill us if we're late"
"Mr. Danforth! Mr. Bolton! Late! Both of you!" Darbus said angry "Sit down with your partners now or you'll get detention"
"Hey Sharpay" Troy said smiling as he sat next to her
"Hey! Nice way of starting the day. You almost got detention" she giggled
"Yeah." He looked around "They are all so concentrated working while we have already finished. I feel so smart!"
"Bet it's the first time" she giggled
"Yeah it is!" he said laughing. There was an awkward silence
"I had a great time yesterday" Sharpay said smiling
"Me too! The only girl I had played with was Jess. It's good to make a change once in a while"
"Have you seen we both wear number 14 on the basketball t-shirt?" she asked him
"Yeah I saw it the other day at the game. And we're both captains" he smiled at her and she smiled back "What number is Jess?
"You know my number and not hers?" she asked incredously
"I just remember yours because it's the same as mine"
Sharpay giggled
"Bolton! Evans! Lower your voices!" Darbus said. They looked at each other and tried to keep a straight face
"So what are you doing after school" Troy asked her
"Basketball practice and I'll meet my boyfriend remember?"
"Oh yeah. I've got practice too. Maybe I'll hang out with Chad then"
"Talking about Chad. I heard you two almost shouting at each other at the hallway. What happened?"
"Oh, uhm" Troy said not sure if he should tell her "He called you Ice Queen"
"So? Everyone does" Sharpay said carelessly "I'm used to it"
"Yeah but you're not an Ice Queen!"
"But I act like one so I think I deserve the nickname" she shrugged "It's fair"
"Don't you care about what they say?" Troy asked frowning
"Troy they didn't care about hurting me when my mom died. Why should I care about their opinion? All the people I care about know the real me and that's enough for me"
"Can I ask you something? Did Chad laugh at you at that time?"
"Yeah he did" she looked down "I had a crush on him and he made me feel like shit"
Chad had teased Sharpay when she lost her mom? And she had had a crush on him? No doubt why she was always yelling at him. Troy actually felt sorry for her but before he could say anything Sharpay spoke
"Don't feel sorry for me Troy" she said as though she could read his mind "I'm not weak. I can handle it" the bell rang "I have to talk to Ryan" she stood up and left. Troy just sat where he was, a storm of thoughts in his mind
"Hey Troy" Gabriella said sweetly bringing him back to reality. She kissed him lightly on the cheek "How are you?"
"Fine I guess. Have you seen Chad?" he asked her
Everything's about Chad, she thought "Yes, he was in the corridor with Tay" she told him
"Thanks" he stood up "See you" he left looking for his friend
"Chad!" Troy shouted across the hallway when he saw him
"Troy, man! What's up?"
"Ehm, can we talk? Alone?"
Chad's smile faded "Sure" he said a bit concerned. Taylor left them alone
"Please tell me it isn't true" Troy said
"What?" Chad asked not knowing what he was talking about
"Tell me you didn't make fun of Sharpay when her mom died"
Chad was taken aback but let out a laugh "Come on Troy! You can't be serious!"
"Did you do it?" he asked him seriously "Answer me"
"Yeah I did Troy! She's an Ice Queen!"
"Not at that time. That was way after"
"Well I don't really know Troy! I was a kid!"
"I don't remember you laughing at me when Anthony died" Troy yelled at him getting red
"What?" Chad said outraged "Troy I would never do that! You're my friend!"
"But if I weren't you would have done the same you did with Sharpay right?"
"Troy where the hell are you trying to get?"
Troy sighed and calmed down "I don't know. I was just surprised when I found out. That's all"
"Can I ask you something?" Troy nodded "What's with Sharpay? First you were looking for her for no reason and now this!"
"You know Jess? My cousin?" Chad nodded "She plays basketball. With Sharpay!"
"The Ice Que, sorry. I mean Sharpay plays basketball?!"
"Yeah I was shocked at first too. But she's really good at it. I saw her with Jess. And she was really nice too. So not like the Sharpay she's here"
"No Ice Queen attitude?" Chad asked interestedly
"Nope" Troy answered "Yesterday at my house we were doing the project and she told me she started acting coldly when her mom died, but that she wasn0t that mean. And then we played basketball"
"Really?"
"Yeah she's quite nice and…"
"Hot?" Chad helped him
"Yeah that too" Troy smiled
"So you like her?" Chad winked at Troy
"Maybe?" Chad looked at him lifting an eyebrow "Ok I do. A lot. But I always had something for her, you know that"
"You like her more than Gabi?"
"Of course! Gabi was always a friend for me"
"And speaking about Gabi, it's lunchtime you know and I'm pretty hungry"
Troy burst out laughing "What does one thing have to do with the other?"
"Dunno. Let's go loser" they headed for the cafeteria. Troy saw Sharpay and Ryan sitting by themselves
"Do you think we should…?"
"Yeah" Chad said getting what he meant
"Hey Shar, can we seat here with you?" Troy asked her. Sharpay looked up and saw him and Chad
"Course" she smiled
"What are you doing?" Troy asked
"How about eating?" she said sarcastically
"Oh really? I could have never figured that out by myself" Troy said laughing. Sharpay giggled
"Ehm, Sharpay" Chad said shyly "I know we haven't been best of friends but do you think we could start over?"
Sharpay smiled at him "I'd love to"
Chad smiled back at her "Cool. When is your next game?"
"Next we, What?! How do you know?" Sharpay asked him and turned to Troy "You told him?!"
"Hey he's my best friend! We have no secrets!" Troy defended himself half laughing
"Yeah I know everything about him" Chad supported Troy "And trust me. When I say everything I mean everything" he laughed "But I won't say a word about it"
"Thanks" Sharpay said relieved
"Do you have practice today?" Ryan asked her
"Yeah" she nodded eating her salad
"You're going to visit him afterwards?" Sharpay nodded again
"Who's him?" Chad asked confused
"Her boyfriend" Troy said wearily, rolling his eyes. Sharpay shot him a death glare
"You've got a boyfriend? Wow!" Chad said surprised
"Hey you've got a girlfriend, Troy has a girlfriend, Ryan has a girlfriend. Why are you so surprised I have a boyfriend?"
"How many times do I have to tell you? Gabi is not mi girlfriend!" Troy said "Hang on! You have a girlfriend?" he turned to Ryan
"I do" he said "so out of the four you're the only one single"
"Seems so" Troy said in a low voice. The bell rang "Free period, yeah! What are you gonna do guys?"
"Dunno" Chad said. Ryan and Sharpay shrugged
"How about play basketball?" Troy suggested
"Are you crazy? I'm not playing it here at school!" Sharpay shouted
"I've got it all figured out Sharpay! I'll ask my dad for the keys of the gym. I'll tell him I want to practice alone without being disturbed. Then we lock it from the inside and we're done!"
"Yeah man but Ryan doesn't play so we'll be just three" Chad said
"Hey who said I didn't play it?" Ryan said "With my sister and my girlfriend playing it how can I not?"
"Your girlfriend plays it too?" Troy asked surprised that so many girls played it
"I'm dating Jessica" Ryan told Troy
"Who's Jessica?" he asked
"Your cousin duh!" Ryan said half laughing
"You're dating Jess?!"
"Well, yeah!"
Troy's thoughts wonder for a while. Ryan was dating Jess? He remembered when she told Sharpay to tell him to call her. It suddenly made sense
"Earth to Troy!" Sharpay shouted at him "Are we going to play or not?"
"Yeah sure let's go" they waited for Troy to come back with the keys
"Ok" Troy said locking the door "Ready?"
"Yeah. Let's be Ryan and me against you two" Sharpay said
"That's a piece of cake!" Chad said
"Really? You shouldn't be so confident" Sharpay said "Right Ry?"
"Right" her brother said "You have no chance against us"
And it was true. Ryan and Sharpay played so coordinated. It was like they could read each other's mind and knew what they were going to do. Like twin telepathy. Plus, they played in a way neither Chad nor Troy could have imagined.
"I think I'll take my words back" Chad said when they were over "How come you play so well?"
"We've got a personal coach three times a week" Ryan explained
"Why don't you play for East High?" Troy asked him
"Because I don't have time"
"Oh yeah?" Chad said joking "What is it that you do then?"
"Well, Ryan plays soccer and tennis and I have hip hop and jazz lessons. And then we both play basketball, have drama classes and piano lessons"
"You do all that?" Troy said surprised
"Yeah" Ryan said proudly
"Wow! You've got a busy life apparently" Chad said
Ryan nodded "Too true"
Troy checked his watch "We've got ten minutes before the bell goes"
"What's next lesson?" Chad asked
"Math" Troy said "Urgh! I hate them. So boring"
"Oh come on!" Sharpay said "They are not that dull!"
"You like math?" Troy asked lifting an eyebrow
"As a matter of fact I do. But not as much as your girlfriend"
"Here we go again" Troy muttered under his breath
"Hey I saw that!" Sharpay complaint
"Well I'm just telling the truth! Why do you keep thinking she's my girl when she's not? She's just a friend. What is it that you don't get?" Troy almost yelled at her
Sharpay was taken aback by his reaction "Ok, I'm sorry. It's just you look like a couple"
"But we're not. Get it?"
"Yeap. Sorry. Shouldn't we get going?" they all walked to homeroom. Some people started whispering when they saw them together
"Don't pay attention to what they say" Troy muttered to her
"I'll try"
They sat at their places. Gabriella and Taylor exchanged quizzical looks. Taylor turned to Chad but he muttered "Later"
Troy spent the whole class thinking of whatever came to his mind. Basketball, Sharpay, homework, Sharpay, Chad, Sharpay, Jessica and Ryan… and yes. Sharpay. Damn! She kept popping into his mind. The way she smiled, her laugh, her voice. God! He just wanted to be with her all the time""
Maybe I could ask her to come home after school. No. she can't. She's got to meet her oh so dear boyfriend
Who was he? He wanted to kick his ass for getting her
I can always follow her and find out. No! Don't even think about it! If she sees you she'll go nuts. Maybe I can ask Jess. She's got to know. Yes. I'll do that
He went to basketball practice and then dialed her number
"Hey Jess! It's Troy here"
"Oh hey Troy! What's up?" she asked surprised that he called
"Uhm, I was just wondering if I could hang out at your house for a while. Course my parents are out and I'm pretty bored" he lied
"Of course you can! You don't even have to ask. I'll tell mom you're staying for dinner ok?"
"Great! See you in some minutes" he ended the call and drove to her house
"Troy!" Jessica greeted him when he arrived
"Hey Jess" Troy said sweetly hugging her "How are you?"
"Fine. I've just had basketball practice"
"So have I" He smiled at her "Is Aaron at home? I haven't seen him in ages"
"Yeah he's in his room. Wanna go?"
"Yeah" Troy said going upstairs. Aaron was his favorites cousin. He was two years older than him and they used to hang out a lot. He opened the door of his bedroom and felt his jaw drop. He was looking at Aaron and Sharpay making out on his bed. They heard the door open and stopped. Sharpay opened her eyes in surprise
"Troy I forgot to tell you Sharpay is here" Jess said appearing next to him.