Chapter 10: When the Night Feels My Song

A/N: Thank you everyone for reviewing. My mom is getting better and she is no longer in the hospital. Sorry this update is a day late...I had to cover for one of my co-workers cause he decided not to show up one day. Grr. The next update will be on Monday night or Tuesday morning, depending on how long it takes me to write it.

The world slowed to a crawl as Sharpay stared in horror at the quickly approaching headlights. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion except for her. She turned her head to the left as she saw Maddie, Ryan, and Troy running in her direction; they were yelling to tell her to watch out. She turned back to the car to see the driver. He clenched his teeth as he slammed on the brakes in a desperate attempt to stop the car. She wondered why her life hadn't flashed in front of her eyes. It wouldn't have taken very long anyway, she was only sixteen. A steady beeping that she had thought was a buzzing in her head became more incessant as the car drew closer. Her eyes flew open the instant the car hit and she was awake. A quick look around found her lying in a hospital bed, the lights dimmed around her. Bringing her hand up to her chest, she clutched the thin material of the hospital gown and felt the rapid beating of her heart; the beeping had been her heart monitor. She realized then that it had been a nightmare of the accident.

"Are you okay?" A nurse asked as she poked her head into the room. Sharpay nodded slowly, her throat was dry and she was unable to speak. She gestured for a cup of water and the nurse brought one up to her lips. Taking a few sips to get some moisture back in her mouth, she thanked the nurse with a raspy 'thank you.'

"If you need anything at all, just push that button right there. Okay sweetie?" She smiled at her and patted her hand before leaving the room. Sharpay eased back into the pillows and tried to find a comfortable position to sit in. There was no way she was going to be able to get back to sleep after her nightmare. She counted again in her head how many times she had seen herself get hit by that car. The count was at six. In the four days since she was rushed to the hospital in the back of an ambulance she had passed in and out of consciousness several times. She had no recollection of what had happened after the crash. She didn't wake up until the day after the crash since she had been put under anesthesia. She did recall what had happened immediately after she had awoken.

Three days ago

Sharpay's eyes fluttered open as someone gently shook her shoulder. A thick fog clouded her brain as she tried to discern who it was that was shaking her awake. Her identical sister stood in front of her with a smile on her face and a teddy bear in her arms.

"Hey there sleepy, welcome back to the real world." Maddie said as she pulled her sister into a hug.

"We thought you were going to die." Maddie couldn't stifle the sob that escaped her lips at the memory of the previous day. She pulled out of the hug to look her sister over. She looked so small, sitting in the large bed with tubes and wires connecting her to various machines in the room. Her leg was braced and her left arm was in a sling. A tear leaked out of the corner of Maddie's eye as she lightly touched the bandage over her right eye.

"Maddie, can you back up a little bit?" Ryan asked her gently as he grabbed her arm.

"Why? I can't be worried about my sister that I just met?" Maddie glared at Ryan as he pulled her towards a chair.

"No you can be worried; you were standing on her breathing tube." Ryan and Maddie looked back to Sharpay who was trying to recover from her lack of oxygen.

"Oh, sorry Shar." Maddie apologized and hid behind her hands sheepishly. Ryan walked over to his other sister and wrapped her in a hug, careful not to pinch any tubes.

"What happened Ryan?" Sharpay asked suddenly. Ryan stepped back and looked at her worriedly.

"You were hit by a car. It wasn't too serious but you did break a few bones. You also had a concussion and the doctors were afraid that you had cracked your skull when you hit the ground. Luckily, you didn't but you still have to stay in bed for a few days because they want to make sure that you're okay." Sharpay stared out the window at the gray clouds floating outside; a light drizzle had started.

"Sharpay, are you listening?" She snapped her head back to Ryan and was met with the worried looks of her two siblings.

"I'm fine; I was just watching the rain outside." Sharpay laid back in her bed, still groggy from the drugs still in her system.

"Is she awake?" Troy walked into the room then with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a big balloon in the other. A smile lit up Sharpay's face when she saw Troy put the flowers in a vase and tie the balloon to a chair. He quickly crossed the room and pulled her into a comforting hug. He kissed her lightly on the cheek and pulled back from her.

"You gave us all a scare yesterday." Troy said as he held her hand in his, drawing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I'm sorry." Sharpay whispered as she closed her eyes; relishing in the warmth of Tory's hand.

"Don't be. This wasn't your fault. The driver of the car didn't see you there and you didn't see him until it was too late. Its nobodies fault." Troy explained to her as she nodded her head.

"I know, it's just…I should have been paying attention." She gripped Troy's hand tighter as a sharp pain streaked through her brain.

"Hey, are you okay?" Troy got worried as he took note of the pain etched across her face as well as the increased pressure she put on his hand.

"I'm fine, just a really strong headache. Stop asking if I'm okay. The question is getting annoying." She released the strong hold she had on Troy's hand as the pain subsided.

"Well if you really are okay, me and Ryan are going to head down to the cafeteria. I'm starving." Maddie said as she pulled Ryan up by his shirt sleeve and led him out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"We just ate Maddie, you can't be hungry again." Ryan complained as he pulled his shirt out of her grasp.

"I know, it just looked like they needed some time alone." She stated as she pressed the button to signal for an elevator.

"Weren't you just fighting with her over who got to date Troy just a couple of days ago?" Ryan was confused to the sudden change in her motives.

"There's something deeper going on between the two of them, I can see it in her eyes. Plus she told me that she thinks she might be falling in love with him." Maddie didn't turn to see the look on Ryan's face. A bell chimed and the doors to the elevator squeaked open. Maddie stepped inside and Ryan followed her in, dumbfounded at the new information.

"Close your mouth unless you want to catch flies." Maddie pushed his mouth closed with her finger and then pushed the button labeled '2' and the doors closed.

"She told you she was falling in love with him?" Ryan was still in shock as the elevator descended.

"Yes, there are some things that she can only trust with me. I being a girl and all." Maddie rolled her eyes as Ryan began pacing in the small space.

"What about you, don't you still like him?" Ryan stopped pacing and turned around to get the truth.

"I still like him but I only thought he was cute. Whenever we hung out it was like talking to my brother…my other brother…you know what I mean." Maddie stumbled at explaining her new platonic relationship with the basketball boy.

"So that's it, the fight is over? You don't like Troy like that anymore?" Ryan breathed a sigh of relief when Maddie nodded in response.

"Good, I didn't want to have to beat him up for breaking both of my sister's hearts." They arrived on the second floor and they exited the elevator and headed to the cafeteria for some dessert.

Upstairs in Sharpay's room

Troy pulled a chair up to Sharpay's bedside as he continued to hold her hand.

"Troy? Can you get me another blanket? I'm getting cold." Sharpay squeezed his hand as he got up to comply with her request.

"Your hands were feeling a little cold." He spread the other blanket over her and tucked her in so that her hands were beneath the covers as well.

"So I was thinking about what happened last week." Troy began as Sharpay closed her eyes to rest.

"When you get better and you're out of the hospital, I'd like to take you to dinner." Sharpay opened her eyes slowly and turned her head to see Troy looking down at the floor.

"Like on a date?" Sharpay asked as he looked anywhere but at her.

"It doesn't have to be if you don't want it to." Sharpay snaked her arm from underneath the blanket and pulled his chin up so that he would look at her.

"I want it to." Troy leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Yeah I really want it to." Sharpay laughed softly as they broke apart.

"I'm gonna go home, my mom wanted me home by six." Troy got up from his seat and put the chair back in the corner.

"I'll come visit you tomorrow." Troy came back to her and gave her another kiss.

"Promise?" She asked him with her eyes closed.

"I promise, now get some rest." With that Troy left her room and she quickly fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Present day

That was three days ago and everyone had come to visit her at some point. Her room had quickly filled up with flowers and get well soon balloons. She was recovering nicely according to the doctor and she would be released the next day. The only problem she had was the ache in her joints from lying in a bed for four days and the nightmare that she had when she went to sleep. The doctor told her that the nightmare is a side effect of the concussion and that the brain was just stuck in a repeat during those last moments before the crash. The nightmares would go away after her brain healed from the injury that it had sustained.

"I'm not getting anymore sleep tonight, I may as well just watch some TV." Sharpay said to her empty room as she clicked the small wall unit on and watched the late night programming. She stayed that way for a few hours until she felt drowsy and fell asleep just as the sun started rising outside of her windows.

A/N: No humungous cliffhanger after this chapter. I think I gave enough of you heart attacks after the last one. I think I'm going to bring London into this fic in the next couple of chapters. Also, I have another idea for a Suite Life fic based on my experiences with working in a hotel. It will be rated M since that's what everything that happens in life is like. Check my profile for my other ideas. Peace out.