You call that reviewing, people? Please, I know you can do better. No offence to those wonderful people who actually did review me, it's very much appreciated. But seriously, I'd like to know what all the "silent" readers think of this? And if YagottaluvHSM is reading this, I really wanted to PM you, but you must have disabled the function, because I couldn't. As long as it stays that way, I wont be able to write you.
Forbidden Dreams
Chapter 4.
Taylor, Chad and Gabriella were waiting for both Sharpay and Troy to come to school, the next Monday. They were by Sharpay's pink locker, where they usually met up, but so far neither Troy nor Sharpay had been there, and they were getting quite freaked out.
The lovely couple hadn't made up yet. All yesterday was spent, trying to get Troy to pick up the phone, after convincing Sharpay to call him. Sharpay hadn't said a word to her parents, Ryan had told Gabriella this morning, when he'd called to tell her he wasn't gonna come to school, because he had a huge headache.
They had no idea how they were gonna get Troy and Sharpay to talk to each other. Sharpay was almost desperate yesterday. Taylor had been at her house, cheering her up with her weird humour, while Chad and Gabriella had been at Troy's. Ryan had been at Sharpay's too, and he and Taylor had convinced her that it wasn't her fault and that she shouldn't push Troy too much. Gabriella and Chad had tried getting Troy to speak, but with no use. He was convinced that his life was over for good, and they could do nothing to change his mind. Unless one of them magically got Misja to disappear.
"Hi guys!" Sharpay suddenly said, as she was standing in front of them. They hadn't even seen her coming. "What are y'all doing here?"
"Waiting for you…" Taylor said, "Isn't that quite obvious?"
"Oh, but I thought that…" she broke off, as she stared at something behind their backs. They turned around too, noticing Troy coming towards them, a dead look in his eyes. Sharpay swallowed hard, getting a sorrowful look on her face too.
"Troy!" Gabriella whined, rushing towards him, and enveloping him in a big hug, "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit." Troy mumbled, hugging her back, as they slowly started walking towards the other three. Sharpay opened her locker, not wanting to see Troy's angry eyes. She found her books and stuff, and when she closed it again, he was staring right at her anyway.
"Hi…" she whispered, hugging her book close.
"Hey."
She bit her lips, breathing hard, "How… How are you feeling?"
He got a hard look on his face, his lips frozen, "How do you think I'm feeling, Sharpay!?"
"Don't take that tone with me!" she said, crossing her arms, to protect herself from his anger, "It's not my fault! Remember that Troy!"
"Well, who's fault is it then?" Troy asked, "Because I know it's not mine!"
"Why are you doing this to me, Troy!?" Sharpay snapped, her tears ready to fall, "Why are you doing this…? We can work it out… I know we can, it's not over yet…" she paused, biting her lip, "It's not, Troy… I love you! Just because Misja is coming… it doesn't mean I've just stopped loving you! You mean the world to me…"
"I love you too, Sharpay…" Troy said, "You know I do, but… It's hard… Try to see things from my perspective, okay? The girl I love most in the entire world are marrying someone else. How do you think that makes me feel, Shar? Can you even imagine that? It hurts SO much!"
"I can imagine." Sharpay whispered, looking him deep into the eyes, "I know I can't say I've felt the same, Troy, but… I love you. I love you so much, and I want us to be together. I know my parents want me to marry Misja, but that doesn't mean I want to marry him. I've met the guy once! Seriously, what did they expect?" she paused, "I just want to be with you… and if I have to start a relationship with Misja in four weeks, then I want to be with you until. Can't you understand that?"
"I do…" Troy paused, "I kinda do, Sharpay, but… But it'll never be the same. Not for me. And I need a little more time to think about this…"
Sharpay's face fell, and tears started rolling down her cheeks. She hung her head in shame, "Okay…" she whispered. And then she shot a sad smile to her other friends and made her way down the hallway, for the first time in her life, not yelling MOVE!
--
Gabriella and Taylor looked at Sharpay from across the table, during lunch. On an ordinary day, she would be sitting on Troy's lap, letting him feet her grapes or some other sort of fruit. But today was different. Her happy sparkle was gone, and she was digging her salad, not really eating anything.
Gabriella sighed. It was such a heartbreaking sight. She couldn't stand to watch her friend like this. A couple of tables away, Troy and Chad had seated themselves with the other jocks. They'd stopped doing that to be with their girlfriends, but now… everything was messed up. Gabriella knew, they had to do something.
"Tay…" she whispered, turning to her, her brown eyes looking so sad. She swallowed and nodded her head slightly towards Sharpay, so Taylor knew what they were talking about, "We gotta do something…"
"I know." Taylor whispered back, biting her lip slightly, "But what can we do, Gabby? I mean… I understand where Troy is coming from, she's marrying someone else!"
"Yes, I know…" Gabriella said, her voice sad, "But they have to be together until then, remember the trip we talked about? Right after Troy and Sharpay got home form Hawaii? We can't do that if they're fighting. It was supposed to be just the 6 of us. They have to make up. And if they can't be together, then they have to be friends."
"Yeah, you're right…" Taylor trailed off, "And I can't stand to watch Sharpay like this. She used to be so happy. I've just started to really care for her and value her weird friendship, and now…She's different again…"
"And I who thought her parents were cool!" Gabriella mumbled, "They were like the coolest parents ever. This marriage doesn't seem like something they'd just go ahead and do… Something is not right, Tay. Or else,… her parents are just showing us what they REALLY are like!?"
"I don't know…" Taylor whispered, "But I want Sharpay back."
Gabriella nodded, "So do I…"
…Gabriella laughed as Sharpay danced around the shop, humming the most resent musical tune. Kelsi had written it, so Kelsi herself was smiling like crazy, while Taylor was shaking her head, pretending that she didn't know the three mad women in the middle – centre of all attention.
"Sing with me, Gabby!" Sharpay smiled in a sing-song voice, "It'll make you feel happy!" she continued, taking Gabriella's hands and swinging them from side to side.
Kelsi approached them, pushing her glasses slightly back at her nose, a smile on her face, "Are you a little hyper today, Sharpay?"
"Oh, just a tad, don't you think?" Taylor mumbled, holding up a red dress between them, so people still wouldn't think she knew them.
"Oh, Tayloooor!" Sharpay continued, ducking under the red dress, to face her friend, "Red is really not your colour, silly. You should go with green or blue or black."
"Sharpay!?" Taylor squealed, placing a hand on her heart, "You gave me a fright! Would you calm down, please? If you get us kicked out of here, we wont find the perfect Prom dresses!"
"Sorry!" Sharpay mumbled, giving her a pouty look, "We can't let that happen! I need to look smokin' hot for the Troy-boy!"
Kelsi shook her head, letting out a sigh, "Shar, when are you gonna realize that we wont listen to you and Troy's exploits? We're really feeling better without them. I don't need those images in my head."
"Fine, fine, fine…" Sharpay mumbled pulling a black dress down for a look-over, "Be that way." She threw the dress to Kelsi and mumbled, "Black is your colour. But black is my colour too, and we don't want both of us to look the same, so you should do a long dress, and I should do a shorter."
"Huh?"
"Just try it on, Kels." She mimicked, "Or I'll beat you like a piñata. There's a dressing room right over there!" she pointed behind her back, pushing the composer into it in a hurry.
"Are you just gonna go ahead and decide whatever all of us are gonna wear?" Gabriella asked, hands on hips.
Sharpay looked up from another dress, shooting her a small smile, "Yeah!" she paused "And you should go with a red."
Gabriella rolled her eyes, grabbed the dress Sharpay was holding out for her, and headed towards the last dressing room. She swore, sometimes Sharpay would be a tad too happy and hyper. Gabriella wasn't like that. Especially not after she turned 18. She'd grown up, and so had everyone else. Except Sharpay. She still took life like it was, and Gabriella envied her for that, even though it was irresponsible.
"Fine then!" Sharpay said, looking around, while hoping her friends would hear her, "There's no dressing rooms left. I'll just change right here!"
Taylor's head immediately shot out of her dressing room. Her eyes were wide, and her hair was a bit messy, "What!?" she shrieked, "Sharpay you can't do that! This is a nice place! You can't just… strip down to your underwear whenever you want to."
"Please, Taylor." Sharpay mumbled, zipping down her pink skirt, "We're all women here, I think they've seen a girl in her underwear before. Besides, it'll be like being on the beach. In a bikini!"
Taylor rolled her eyes, and retired her head again, not wanting to watch her friend strip down in public. Gabriella however peeked out of her dressing room, having to watch Sharpay. She was so intimidated by her friend at times, but that was what made their friendship. And she HAD to see how people would react!
The saleswoman shot Sharpay a weird look, but didn't say anything. It wasn't written anywhere, that you can't try out clothes outside the dressing rooms, so she just turned her head, and focused on another customer, who also, politely decided to ignore the teenage girl.
Sharpay was quickly out of her skirt and top, and motioned for Gabriella to come out and zip her gown up. Gabriella came out, wearing her red dress. Sharpay had to stop for a second, to take in the dark beauty in front of her, "Wow." She mumbled, "Wow, wow, wow! How come you're dating my dorky brother? You can get anyone in the world looking like that?"
Gabriella let out a giggle, "I do look good, don't I?"
"Yup," Sharpay nodded, but then she turned around, to let Gabriella zip the back of her dress. When she was done, Sharpay turned around and the two girls stared at each other, happiness in their eyes, "We look good, girl!" Sharpay then exclaimed.
"You're gorgeous, Sharpay." Gabriella said, and she really meant it. All Sharpay needed right now was a pair of black heels, some smoky makeup and her hair done, and she'd be the Belle of the ball. Gabriella had no doubt in her mind, that Troy and Sharpay would be voted Prom King and Queen. They were the perfect couple. It seemed like everyone wanted to be them. And if people had been jealous of Troy before, because of his good looks and basketball skills, boys were even more jealous now, because he had one of the most hottest girls in school. It was the same for Sharpay; girls had seen her, and wanted to be her, with her good looks and talent, and now she had the basketball king too.
"Well, thank you, Gabriella." Sharpay smiled, acting older and wiser, which was proved by the way she said Gabriella's name. She'd never use Gabriella in regular everyday-life. It was always Gabby or Gabs. Mostly Gabby though, Ryan called her Gabs. It was their thing.
Gabriella shot her a smile, and didn't know what to say to her more. She watched as Sharpay bit her lip, but then she took a few hard steps to Taylor's dressing room, where she knocked on the wall, wanting her to come out. Two seconds later, Kelsi got the same treatment.
"Coming!" Kelsi shouted, and Gabriella mused to herself, she wouldn't have done that a year ago. A year ago she was so afraid of Sharpay, as some would be of a serial killer.
Two minutes later, Taylor and Kelsi came out of their dressing rooms, dressed in their gowns. Gabriella lost her jaw. They were both gorgeous! Did Sharpay know how to pick out clothes, or what? "Wow." She mused, "Look at you two!"
"You're breathtaking." Sharpay smiled, walking around them, as to expect them closer, "Tell me girls, why are we all dating these immature high school boys? We could easily get a college man!"
The three other burst into a fit of giggles, and Sharpay quickly joined them…
--
"We can go shopping?" Taylor suggested, in attempt to cheer Sharpay up, "Or to the movies… anything you want!?"
"No…" Sharpay said, slowly making her way down the hallway. "No, I don't want to go anywhere without, Troy. It's not the same without him. Nothing will be fun."
"Geez Sharpay, you're acting like he's dead." Gabriella said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Well, I'm sorry if I'm sad!" Sharpay hissed, shooting her a death glare, "We just broke up! Could you be more insensitive, Gabby!"
"Sorry…" Gabriella mumbled, hanging her head in shame, "I just hate to see you like this, Shar! I know it's not you! You're always so happy! You smile and laugh and sing! You make US smile when we're down."
"That was before my heart broke." She just said, and then she turned to leave, as to get the last word, but Gabriella and Taylor couldn't let her get away like that. They were going to make her happy, one way or another. And they were going to get her to talk to Troy, even if they had to tie them to each other.
Taylor grabbed her wrist, and forced her to look at her, "Sharpay!" she said, her voice hard. Sharpay turned to look at her, as the whole hall quieted down, stunned by Taylor's outburst. She wasn't one to usually high her voice like that (only to Chad, on special occasions), and especially not to the Ice Princess. No one dared to speak that way to her.
"What?" Sharpay said, and Taylor just then noticed, the tears in her eyes, as they made their way down her cheeks, and over her lips and towards her neck. Was Sharpay really crying… And in public, just like that? Was she really that… broken?
"Oh, Shar!" Taylor mumbled, and then she pulled her friend into a deep hug, padding her awkwardly on the back, while Sharpay rested her head on her shoulder, letting the tears roll freely. "Please stop crying now. I hate to see you unhappy."
"I just love him so much, Tay…" Sharpay whispered, her voice hoarse, "I can't help it… I've been crying all weekend, and I wont stop. Every time I talk about it, I start again. I'm so pathetic."
"No you're not!" Taylor said, her voice firm, "You're just sad. It's okay, Sharpay."
Sharpay pulled out and shot her a smile, but then she started giggling like mad, and Gabriella joined her, and soon Taylor followed. They didn't really have any reason to giggle like that, so suddenly, but it was needed, after Sharpay's big cry. Gabriella then pulled the two into a group hug, much like seen on "Friends" between Monica, Phoebe and Rachel. (A/N – I love when they have those hugs! It's like, aw SWEET!)
Sharpay was again the one to break the hug, and she shot them another smile, "Look at me, starting the waterworks, huh?"
Taylor padded her arm, and Sharpay turned around, to waltz down the hall, but she didn't get very far. When she turned the corner, she crushed right into the object of all her thoughts, and the reason to why she was crying. The books she'd been carrying flew right out of her hands, and crashed to the floor, while she herself, was about to slip, luckily enough, Troy caught her hand, before she was able to make contact with the floor.
He pulled her to her feet again, and she shot him a brief smile, silently thanking him. He bend down to gather her books, and handed them to her, when he was done. She was about to say something, when he turned to leave.
"Troy!" she yelled, quickly following him, wanting to talk, just… anything with him. She couldn't stand this!, "Please wait a second, we need to talk!"
He stopped, and she caught up with him, placing a hand on his arm, "What?" he whispered, not wanting to catch too much attention.
"There must be a way to figure this out, Troy…" Sharpay trailed off, looking deeply into his eyes, "I love you. And I know you love me. We have to work this out. Can't we just… Can't we, please, be together… Until Misja get here? Please Troy, I'm begging you. We didn't get a proper goodbye."
"And we didn't get a proper start either, Sharpay, please…" Troy said, trying to brush her off, "I can't… Don't you understand that?"
"But- but I love you!" Sharpay protested, tears in her eyes again.
"If you love me as much as you keep bragging about, then you'd be able to understand." Troy simply said, before turning on his hell, leaving her in the hall.
Sharpay turned to look at her two girlfriends, who'd approached them, as their discussion was loud enough for everyone to hear. She shot them a sad look, and hurried out of the school, tears streaming down her face.
--
"Dad, can't you see you're being unreasonable?" Ryan tried, looking his father in the eye, "Can't you see what is going on? You're ruining her. You're destroying my sister. I can't let you do that."
"Ryan, this isn't your business!" Mike Evans argued, brushing his son off, "This is between me, Sharpay and your mother, and I think we can handle it. Stay out of this!"
"No!" Ryan said, putting his foot down, "I can't! This is affecting everyone, and I'm this family too. I can't believe you're doing this to your only daughter. Can't you see how miserable it's making her?" he paused, and when his father didn't respond, he continued, "You're… I don't even know you! Where's the father I know? Three months ago you wouldn't have done this. What changed you, dad? You used to be a cool parent!"
"A lot of stuff happened, Ryan." Mike said, shaking his head slightly, "You wouldn't understand. Your mother and I couldn't watch Sharpay like this anymore. This is better. And you shouldn't be supporting her, you should support us. If I hear another peep out of you, I'll disinherit you."
"Is that what you threatened to do with Sharpay if she didn't marry Misja?" Ryan questioned, not caring if his father didn't leave him a dime. Sharpay's happiness was more important than all the money in the world.
"Stay out of this, Ryan." His father repeated, and a silence overtook them.
Two minutes later the front door slammed open, and they hurried into the hallway, to see Sharpay storming up the stairs and towards her room with tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes red from crying.
Ryan turned to his father, a hateful look on his face, "See what you did to her!?"
Okay, so I simply hate to write a sad Sharpay, and that's because I suck at it. I've almost only tried to write her happy and bouncy, but now she's like… Uff, and really, if I have written her like this before, it hasn't been for so long as now. I promise though, that it will look brighter for her in a few chapters (I think).
And now, I tried to hurry with this update, because there'll be a couple of days now, where I wont be able to write anything, maybe not even read, I'll be SO busy. Tomorrow, is like, the last day of school, I'm out forever, babe, so that's like a really big deal, and then at night, I'm getting together with two of my best friends (MelleG is one of them ;p) to watch movies and celebrate. The day after, my aunt is throwing a wedding anniversary party, so I'll be busy there too. And then I have to study for my english exam on Wednesday and do the exam on Thursday. I should be able to squeeze in some writing and reading though, because otherwise I wont be able to survive.
Remember to review, eh?
Tootles, Stessa ;o