Thanks for the reviews! I love them, and sorry about the delay, but I'm busy, but I have been writing on my joined fics instead. I hope this chapter is worth the wait, though. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer; I don't own High School Musical.

Forbidden Dreams

Chapter 5.

Getting ready for Prom the next Friday was a sad experience for Sharpay. She got ready with Taylor, Kelsi and Gabriella just as they'd agreed on, but she didn't look forward to her Prom night, which was a shame since it was her last one. She didn't expect Troy to come and pick her up along with Ryan, Jason and Chad, so basically, she wouldn't have a date.

Gabriella had assured her though, that Troy was going to be there tonight, so Sharpay had set her mind on making up with him. Whatever it took! If she had to go take the microphone from the band on the stage, and sing him a love song to prove her feelings, she was gonna do it. If she had to go down on her knees and beg him, she was gonna do it. She was desperate. She needed Troy, she really did!

She had the perfect dress, the perfect hair, the perfect shoes and the perfect accessories. But she didn't have the perfect date. She didn't have a date at all. It sucked!

The girls did everything to cheer her up though. They pulled funny faces and goofed off, but it was all a waste. When the guys knocked on the door, she was still sad. But her mood got a little better, when she saw Zeke along with them. He'd decided to take her, as a friend, and try to make her night memorable. His girlfriend didn't care, because she was older and didn't even go to their school, and she understood it completely.

"You look lovely tonight." Zeke said, taking her hand, and leading her to the limo, that Sharpay and Ryan's parents had gotten for them. It was a little extravagant, but the others seemed to enjoy it. Sharpay and Ryan were used to it, so they really didn't see the exciting thing about it.

They arrived to their school, where it was being held in the big hall, and Sharpay had actually managed to enjoy her conversation with Zeke on the way. She had decided to have fun tonight, and forget about all her Troy-problems, because it was her senior Prom, and she didn't want to remember it as something horrible. She knew it would have been so much better with Troy there, but he wasn't, so Zeke was definitely okay to be with too.

They danced and had fun, and when the clock showed 10:30pm, she still hadn't seen Troy. It was kinda weird, her friends had said he'd definitely be there. But maybe he was goofing off somewhere else instead. After all, he could do whatever he wanted to now. She didn't have to know about it, he could even go and make out with a random girl if he felt like it. She shivered by that thought, and pressed herself closer to Zeke's body, wanting to feel the comfort of one of her best guy friends. Her and Zeke had something. Something she didn't share with Chad or Jason. They had a special bond, and she knew Zeke would do everything for her. It felt kinda nice to have a protector that way.

Across the hall, sitting on his chair with his arms crossed, Troy was fuming. How could she just show up with Zeke!? Wasn't she supposed to be sad and stay home and cry? She wasn't supposed to be there with Zeke! He was her Prom date, and that was it! It wasn't something to discuss. Just because they had a minor argument, didn't mean she could just make plans with someone else. He hadn't wanted to pick her up, but he'd decided to go dance with her all night, because he didn't want to ruin her Prom. But look what happened!

Zeke happened!

Why did he always come along? Troy had never been the jealous kind of guy, but there was something about Zeke and his relationship with Sharpay that he just couldn't accept. It was okay for Sharpay to be close to other guys, but she was too close with Zeke. He always got in the way and ruined things!

Troy watched as Sharpay snuck her hands around Zeke's neck and he pulled her closer, putting his hands on her waist. She placed her head on his chest, and closed her eyes, dancing slowly to the song the band was playing. Zeke had his head on top of her head, and he looked content too.

…that was enough!

Troy stood up from his seat, and quickly brushed through Taylor and Chad, breaking the dancing couple apart. He couldn't let that dance go on for one more minute, it was wrong! Plain wrong, and he couldn't let it continue. He ignored Chad's protests, and simply rushed up to Zeke and Sharpay, putting a hand on each of their arms, pulling them away from each other.

"Hey!" Zeke exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

"Shut up, or I'll punch you in the face." Troy said, anger streaming through his voice. He didn't want to pay attention to Zeke though, he simply grabbed Sharpay's arm, and dragged her with him towards the door.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, her voice high and scared.

"We need to talk." Troy simply mumbled, pushing the double doors open. He pulled her further with him, towards a quiet place, where he pushed her onto a bench, sitting down next to her.

"What is wrong with you, Troy!?" she exclaimed, looking at him like he was crazy, "I was dancing! What do you think you're doing!?"

"You can't dance with Zeke!" Troy said, his voice hard.

"And why not?"

"Because I'm your Prom date, so you should dance with me." Troy simply said.

"Excuse me?" Sharpay asked, her voice shrill, "Are you my Prom date? I didn't see you picking me up with the other guys, and I didn't see you complimenting my dress or my hair! Shut the hell up, Troy, you're just jealous because I decided to have fun tonight and not be bitter. Like you."

"Oh, so I'm bitter?" Troy asked, arching his eyebrows together, "I'm bitter because I'm here or what? Because I can't let you dance around with a guy who obviously only wants to get into your pants!"

"Zeke has a girlfriend!" Sharpay exclaimed, "And stop talking about him like that! He's sweet and gentle, he's not like that. You're just assuming things, Troy. And may I add, it isn't my fault that you're here alone tonight, I wanted to go with you. But you didn't want to speak to me! You ignored me and brushed me off! How do you think that made me feel?!"

"I… I was confused, Sharpay…" Troy sighed, calming down a bit, "You confused me! I… I didn't know what to think right there, but I was going to be with you tonight after we'd both arrived, I was going to, I really was. I wanted to have my senior Prom with you."

"Then what did you expect me to do, Troy?" Sharpay questioned, "I'm not a mind reader, how was I supposed to know you were going to do that? I… I was gonna come alone, but Zeke tagged along, and I figured you wouldn't care since you'd broken up with me anyways."

"Why wouldn't I care!?" Troy asked, looking at her, hurt flashing across his face, "Of course I care, Sharpay! I love you, you know that…"

"No…" Sharpay said, her voice soft, as she was trailing off, "No I don't…" and with those words she left the bench and slandered towards the doors again, leaving him there, alone and confused.

He watched her leave, feeling lost. He hadn't even gotten to say any of the things he'd wanted to say to her. He'd wanted to compliment her dress and her hair and her everything. She looked absolutely perfect. There was not a single thing wrong with her, as she sat there before him. And even though her face was pulled into a hard façade, which reminded him of the girl he used to know before he fell in love with her, she was so beautiful, that words couldn't describe her.

He had really wanted to make up with her. He really had. He didn't want to fight. He couldn't exactly date her either, because it would hurt too much. But his mom had helped him realize, that he shouldn't lose her completely. He had to safe the friendship they sorta had before he fell for her. He had to. It was too precious to loose.

He sighed deeply and stood up, to go in there and say goodbye to Chad and Gabriella. There was no use hanging around when the girl he loved was dancing with someone else.

--

Sharpay ignored Zeke's pleas and sat down by the wall, her arms crossed. How dare he!? How can he just show up, say a few words, and end up making her guilty because she went with Zeke? How the hell did that happen!? She wasn't like this. The Sharpay from three years ago wouldn't have obeyed him. She would have found a really cute guy and ended up taking him with her home by the end of the night.

She hated what she'd become after dating Troy. Well, most of the time she did. Because when she was with Troy, she didn't even think about it. It was all worth it, and she didn't need to be slutty Sharpay, because she had a boyfriend – a guy she loved very, very much.

Zeke finally left to go dance with someone else, and Gabriella sat down next to her, Ryan with her. They looked at her, questions in their eyes, but she didn't say anything. She turned her head to the side and ignored them.

"Shar?" Ryan questioned, "What happened?"

"Please tell us?" Gabriella added, her voice soft.

Sharpay turned around to look at them, not having the heart to ignore them either. She swallowed a lump in her throat, "I had a fight with Troy…" she whispered.

"Oh no…" Gabriella said, feeling genially sorry for her friend. She sighed and pulled her in for a hug, squeezing the life out of her, "What happened, Shar?"

"I dunno, but he was angry that I was dancing wit Zeke! And then he pulled me outside, and started yelling at me, like it was my fault he's here alone! But then I got angry, and left him there!" Sharpay paused, pulling away from her, "I don't know what to do, Gabby… Everything is so messed up!"

"I know, sweetie…" Gabriella said, "I know."

"Then what should I do?" Sharpay asked, her chocolate brown eyes big with confusion.

"Go speak to him again," Gabriella said, "I talked to him earlier today. He was going to make up with you, but seeing you with Zeke must have trigged something in him, Sharpay. Give him a chance to apologize, and then dance with him, and be friends. Okay?"

"But I don't want to be friends!" Sharpay exclaimed, "I want to be with him!"

"You can't Sharpay, and you know that…"

Sharpay sighed and looked into her lap, where her fingers were awkwardly playing with her dress and each other. Her nails were black, she noticed, it fitted her mood perfectly. "I guess so." She then mumbled. Then she looked up and shot them a short smile, before making her way across the floor, where she eyed Troy sitting, looking mad too – just the way she felt.

She took a seat beside him, not even saying anything. They just sat there, their shoulders brushing together. Their Prom was turning into a nightmare, simply because of everything, and Sharpay didn't want that. She took a deep breath, and turned her head slightly to the side, "Hi." She whispered.

He turned his head too, a sight of relief flashing across his face. At least she'd done something right, "Hey…"

She swallowed hard, she didn't know what to say, so she just looked at him, flashing him an insecure smile, "I don't know what to say to you…"

"I'm sorry." Troy blurted out, "I was out of line. I was just… mad that you were dancing with Zeke and having fun. I was jealous too, I guess, I just… Sharpay, I love you!"

"I love you too, Troy…" Sharpay whispered, taking his hands into her own, "But you don't want to be with me as long as I have Misja in the back, and there's nothing I can do about it… I just hoped you might realize what I felt, and see things from my perspective."

"I'm trying, Sharpay." Troy said, subconsciously stroking her hand with his thumb, "But…. My mom made me realize something. Even if I can't have you, we can still be friends, I don't want to lose you, but… If you're marrying Misja, friends is all we can be."

"Can't you at least think about dating me until?" Sharpay questioned, "I want a proper goodbye, I want to go to Hawaii and camping like we planned with the guys…"

Troy thought about her words… His heart ached to be with her, to just touch her again and make love to her, but… It would be so hard when they would have to say goodbye. A part of him wanted to say yes and have those three weeks with her, but another part told him to get out of it now, because it'd only end up hurting him in the end.

He looked at her, and saw her big puppy dog eyes looking up at him, hints of tears in the corners, and he didn't have the heart to shoot her down. He loved her too much to be the cause of her tears. He could at least think about it, right?

"Okay…" he then said, "I'll think about it."

Sharpay's face lit up and she embraced him, the tears now rolling down her cheeks because of happiness. She kissed his cheek and pulled him to her feet and onto the dance floor, where a new song was just beginning. He placed his hands around her waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder. They were in their own little world, not a where that they were being watched…

--

"And for the last thing tonight!" Pete Smith said, attracting everyone's attention, "Our lovely teachers and us have voted for Prom King and Queen. We all know who was nominated, so no need to say the names… We're going to reveal the winners, and after that, it's the last song of the night!"

Mrs. Darbus made her way onto the stage, an envelope in her hand, Pete handed her the microphone, but she didn't really need it. Her voice was always high. She took it nonetheless, "Thanks." She smiled, "Oh, my dear students. In this envelope I carry the winner names. Let's take a look, shall we?" she opened it up, and her eyes scanned the answers, a knowing smile coming to her face, "Well, this surprises no one, I guess, the winners are, this year's cutest couple; Troy Bolton and Sharpay Evans! Come up here, my dears!"

The crowd broke into cheers as Troy and Sharpay made their way onto the stage, Troy walking a few steps behind Sharpay. They may have made up, but he knew what the crowd expected, and he wouldn't be able to give it to them. They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend anymore. They were JUST friends, but the school didn't know that, and he sure as hell didn't want to tell them now.

"Wow, thanks!" Sharpay smiled, as Pete placed the tiara on her head. She giggled slightly and turned to look at Troy, who now had a crown on his head too, "So you did vote us Prom King and Queen like I told you to! Thank you very much. It's a great honor."

"Uhm yeah…" Troy awkwardly said. He wasn't much of a speaker in situations like these. How about just letting Sharpay do the talking, like always? "What she said." He chuckled, flashing them his charming smile, which made at least half the girls in there weak in the knees.

Suddenly someone was brave enough to yell: "Kiss her!"

Troy and Sharpay stared at each other for a moment. They'd never had trouble kissing each other (or scandalously making out) in the hallway or cafeteria, or auditorium or class. Just think back to when they first started going out, the way they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Everybody had felt awkward back then, but now they sorta… just let them. They were used to it.

But the problem was… Troy and Sharpay couldn't, wouldn't make out. They weren't dating, and Troy knew that if he placed his lips on Sharpay's he'd need to go home and be with her. He missed her so much, and he knew she missed him too. And if he kissed her, all the feelings he had would brush up and… They'd end up making love all night long.

"C'mon, kiss her!" another one continued.

Sharpay turned to look at him, her face full of expectations. He knew she wanted to kiss him, because she wanted to date him. But… Oh, he already went over that!

"Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!" the crowd started, repeating the same two words over and over again.

Sharpay bit her lip, but Troy slowly shook his head, no. Sharpay lowered her head, and turned around on her heel, quickly brushing down the stage, and out the door. He was sure he saw a few tears leave her eyes.

As the door smacked close behind her, the crowd got silent, every each of them watching him. What was he gonna do? He felt so guilty! He couldn't just let her run out of there like that, he couldn't just… Let her cry like that.

His gaze drifted to Gabriella's, and she ached her eyebrows, sending him a knowing smile. He knew what he had to do. If he loved her at all, he had to do it.

He jumped down from the stage, the crowd parting in front of him, letting him take the easy way out of there…

--

"Sharpay!" he called, quickly chasing after her, "Shar! Stop for a sec.!" He yelled, getting closer and closer to reach her, "Sharpay, please stop!"

She turned around, anger flashing across her face, but tears were streaming down it too. Her sudden movement almost made them crash into each other, "No!" she yelled, her voice cracking, "I don't know what to do with you anymore, Troy! You keep hurting me!"

"And what do you think you're doing to me?" Troy questioned, "Making me feel great? You're hurting me too!"

"Yes, but I don't want to hurt you!" Sharpay yelled, "I just want to be with you! I love you!"

"Well, I love you too!" Troy yelled back, taking a step closer to her, just to prove his point. His blood was racing with anger, lust and passion. Because even though she was annoying him like hell right now, he couldn't help but notice just how good she looked, and exactly how her dress hugged her body in all the right places, showing him a good amount of cleavage.

"Yeah!" Sharpay yelled, "Well, if you love me too, then how come we're like this!? Why aren't we together!?"

"I don't know!" Troy finally yelled, just telling her what he felt. He really didn't know. Why weren't they together? They should be if they loved each other… shouldn't they?

Suddenly Sharpay had grabbed him by the arm and pulled his head towards her own, and placed her lips on his. He didn't really realize what was happening, but just started to kiss her back. The feeling he got that minute was amazing. He'd thought about how much he missed her these days, but he'd never really thought of how he would feel if he got to kiss her again.

It was indescribable.

And really, if they loved each other, they should be together. It wasn't a question, it was a fact.

Even if it was only for three weeks.

So there you have it. Next chapter should be their little trip to Hawaii if I stick to my plans, we'll see. You never know. Anyway, I'm not American, so I have no idea what Prom is like. I've only seen it in movies, and then I've used from what I've read in other stories. Other then that I've compared it to my own school parties, even though they're nowhere alike. So please don't sue me if anything is incorrect, thank you very much. And now I'd like to see you people review, I think I deserve them, I had big troubles writing this chapter.

And then I have some, kinda, sad news anyway. I have so many joined fics right now. 6 to be exact, and I was thinking… I'm gonna focus on them first and then write on this when I get time, so there might be a long time between each chapter. The stories I write with Noukka are almost done, all three of them, and I'm gonna really work hard to finish at least one before she leaves for Canada. After she's gone, we wont be able to write during the holidays, because she's like really busy, and I… I have nothing to do, so it would be perfect to write my own stuff there. Anyways…

Tootles, Stessa ;o