Solution: And the Winner Is…

"I won, I won, I won!" Mark cried with excitement, as a stunned Sharpay looked at him in disbelief. "I am the winner!"

"What are you talking about?" Sharpay asked, clearly frustrated. "And why on Earth did you kiss me?"

"It's all about the race I was trying to warn you about!" Ryan intervened.

"Oh, shut up Ryan! You are in serious need of a girlfriend! Mark, I demand an explanation!"

"You see, Sharpay," Troy who had finally come close, if second. "Mark is kind of your official boyfriend now. We, in the basketball team agreed to have a race. You know, we had tasks and such: give you presents, take you out on a date, and confront your brother… In each round we held voting procedures and one contestant at a time were eliminated."

"You know, we all thought you were just the hottest," Mark confessed. "You are beautiful, and a great actress and fun, and –I guess- you were out of reach. That's why we did it. At least that's why I did it. And so we are, Troy and I in the final race. And I won, because I kissed you, which was the final task."

It was a comical scene really, since everybody was staring at Troy, Mark, Ryan and Sharpay now. Considering that Mark was dressed as a magician and Troy as a medieval king, it was a rather funny time for explanations. Sharpay was left speechless, her face buried into her arms.

"See Shar?" Ryan whispered. "See I was right? I did all this for you not to get hurt, but I guess I couldn't prevent it. Don't cry, please!"

But Sharpay wasn't crying. She could have clearly ignored Ryan's words, but instead she sunk into his comforting hug. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you bro. I was hurt. Troy, Mark… how many of you were in the race?" she muttered finally.

"Zeke…" Troy and Mark started.

"How could you!" a scream was heard somewhere in the background and everyone saw Evelyn, Sharpay's adversary and head cheerleader, slapping poor Zeke, who was dressed up as a chef. "You had me! Why did you want to go out with that bitch! It's over for us, Zeke, and no crème brulee will heal this!"

"I'm ashamed to say so, but Troy's dad was in that too. He was your secret admirer." Mark went on.

An ooh came from the crowd. Sharpay looked like she was about to faint. Coach Bolton, who was supervising the Dance as a teacher felt his cheeks turn red. Unluckily for him, Lucille Bolton was also a teacher in East High. "Jack, I'd never believe it, you chasing little girls! This is illegal, you know," she said disappointed, slowly but with a stable voice. "I'm afraid I can't trust you any more. I want a divorce."

"Chad... and then Jason," Troy concluded by admitting further.

At the same time, Taylor and Kelsi stepped away from their dates. "What do you find in her, Chad? She isn't an intellectual. I don't trust you!" the Academic Decathlon Captain reacted while Kelsi covered her eyes with her palms. "I never expected it from you Jason! Wasn't I enough?"

So, the drama… What would happen next? The answer gave a clearly sad Gabriella, who stepped out of the crowd faced Troy and Sharpay and spoke in a loud voice.

"I knew something was going on, something that wasn't right about you Troy and I knew Sharpay was involved. Still, I thought she was to blame. I thought she tried to take you away from me, because yes, I know how much she loved you. Troy Bolton, you were Sharpay Evans' secret crush. She never told me, but I knew it from the way she looked at you, the way she pronounced your name…"

"You women are good," Ryan admired. "It took me ages to find out and I had to get her diary in secret!"

Sharpay gave her brother an angry, warning glare and gave the signal to Gabriella to keep on.

"Still, Sharpay was a good friend. She never told me, so I wouldn't get hurt. She offered me fashion and relationship advice when I cursed her under my breath. She asked me to come with her tonight to that Dance because I had no escort and she wanted me to feel better. Sharpay, I'm really, really sorry! On the other hand, you Troy, and I had complete faith in you, disappointed me in the worst way. It was not Sharpay chasing after you, you were chasing after Sharpay!"

The blonde couldn't have any more of that. "Please, everyone, stop! I don't believe it how you got this idea about the race in the first place! What do you think I am some kind of prize to be won? Then, what if I didn't like the winner? I would really respect it if you came directly to me and said you had a crush, the good old-fashioned way! To be honest, I don't know how I'd react, but it would be preferable to this!"

Sharpay sighed then resumed after a brief pause. "Whatever. Since it turned out to be that way, could I have the chance to speak to Mark, the winner of this so-called competition in private?"

Mark nodded. Sharpay took his hand and they crossed the dance floor to find themselves in the corridor, and then an empty classroom, the same classroom where the basketball team was gathered when they had their infamous meetings… They didn't talk to each other, until they sat down.

"It is a most weird day today," Sharpay broke the silence. "First I get to kiss my own brother, and then I share a kiss with you… I wonder what will come next!"

"Sharpay, I love you," Mark interrupted her abruptly. "I just didn't want to tell you in front of all these gossip-obsessed people. I only joined this thing because I would get a chance to be closer to you. I really had one of the best performances out there because I really wanted us to be together! Everything was going fine except, you know, that time I sent you to the hospital."

Sharpay giggled. "I remember. I got your card."

Another abrupt paused full of silence occurred. Sharpay smiled at Mark, looked at him in the eyes and said. "I knew how you felt about me long before I read that card. You are just the greatest Mark…."

"I know… but I'm not the right one for you, am I?"

"I would never lie to you. The only wrong place, wrong time was in the movie Casablanca. And, believe me, Mark, you are not the wrong person at all. I feel lucky to have known you. You are the best friend ever. I'm not that lame to believe that our relationship will now stay the say, but I'm lame enough to hope for it."

Mark smiled. "No problem, Sharpay. I can't say no to you! And though I really like you, I can't admit that Troy loves you too. He just didn't want to hurt Gabriella's feelings. This is why he never told you. He was a very good rival, I must admit. He excelled in all the tasks but I only realized ho much he loved you when I saw him running to kiss you. He was just so quick! Now, I'm a good runner, but he is just better. Now, you may wonder why I am dressed as a magician but I don't have a hat. Truth is, I dropped in front of him it so he would lose his balance and maybe fell off. He was slowed down for not more than a couple of seconds, but it was enough for me to come and kiss you."

"Wow! That's a shock!" Sharpay remarked. "I mean, that's just one of the many shocks I've been through today!"

"I cheated, Sharpay. And we'd once made a deal, whoever cheats will be immediately disqualified. So, the truth is I'm no real winner. Troy is. Why don't you go and find him, to tell him that."

Sharpay's eyes were filled with gratitude. "Thank you Mark!" she said finally, as she got up quickly. "I was a disappointment for you, but at least I think that you are a very good kisser!" She leaned once again close to him and gave him another quick kiss on the lips, but it was more of a friendly peck. "Now I don't know why I did that. It must be the effect of that crazy day! Don't tell Troy though and don't expect anything like this, at least in the near future!"

Mark sighed, as Sharpay rushed to leave. If you love something, then let it go, isn't that what they say? He watched Sharpay run in her high heels. Wow, that must be very difficult, he thought to himself.

The blonde searched every corridor until she reached the cafeteria's dance floor once more. "Where's Troy?" she asked her brother out of breath. "I think he left," Ryan responded solemnly. Sharpay made a dramatic exit out of the East High, as everyone had resumed dancing and having a good time. It seemed that the previous scene was over for good, well, except for the basketball team.

"Troy, at last!" she spotted him in the distance. "Troy?"

"Hey, Sharpay, is that you?" the boy asked, without even turn to look at her.

"Yes, you silly! That's me! Oh look! It started raining!" she remarked casually.

"It is a little spring rain" Troy replied back. "What, are you afraid it will melt your icy heart?"

"Why are you talking to me this way?" Sharpay whispered, her hands starting to tremble. "I love you, Troy!"

"I love you too, Sharpay… but this isn't going to be right! You saw everyone. You saw Gabriella's face."

Sharpay stayed silent. She wanted to scream at Troy. But you don't love her! You love me! For once in your life, Troy Bolton, take an initiative! Come to me, you fool! But of course, she said nothing. Instead she turned her back at him and headed back to East High. "The show must go on…" she only whispered.

Troy watched her going back into the rain. Only then he realized what he was doing, how stupid he was acting. He shouldn't let her go away, he just couldn't. With two steps he approached her, put his hand on her shoulder and as she turned in surprise, he became the third person to kiss her on that night. This time though, it was deep, it was mutual, it was love.

And the rain continued to fall, more heavily…

Author's Note: You have no complaints, I hope! That (big) chapter had it all: the drama, the romance, the surprises… Stay tuned, as I will upload, most likely tomorrow, the ending chapter of this story. In that ending, I'll give the reviewer awards for this story, because all loyal reviewers should be awarded! Without you, this story wouldn't have been the same! It was so open, anyone could have won. But I guess a proper ending is needed. We don't want to leave Zeke, Chad and Jason disappointed, do we? We don't want Troy's parents to divorce either. As to Mark, our second favourite, I could never, never leave him depressed…