Chapter FIVE, biatches! Can I get a "WHOOP-WHOOP?" Thanks to all who have read and reviewed! A new character shall be introduced soon!

Oh, and sorry if the Chinese women in this seem a little stereotypical. I just thought I'd keep them as they were in the movie.

Chapter 5

Settling In

Gabriella flopped back onto Sharpay's bed dejectedly. She could not believe this was happening!

School was pretty awful as Sharpay, as far as her social life went. Her social life which was non-existent outside the Drama Club. And the Drama Club which consisted mainly of Ryan. Not that she didn't enjoy spending time with Ryan. He was as sweet as she thought he would be, and more. He really loved her. Or rather he really loved Sharpay. He had rushed to her defense when a girl a grade above them called her a nasty word that started with "b" and ended with "itch" and asked her if she "wanted some o' this" while they were on their way to English Lit.

"What was her problem?" Gabriella as Sharpay asked shakily, after Ryan had warded her off with threats of going to the Principal.

"Uh…if I recall correctly," he said vaguely, "you kind of, sort of made out with her boyfriend?"

"Oh. Right."

"Don't tell me you forgot?"

She shrugged. "These evil deeds tend to pile up. The less recent ones sort of fade away."

And in class she totally had to suppress her intelligence, which was the most painful part about being her nemesis. Answering all the questions correctly would just look weird to Ryan and the rest. Besides, why should she make Sharpay look good when Sharpay was obviously going to make her seem…blonde?

But the tire on top of the garbage heap had to be when they went to the Great Wall. The hostess greeted them from the reception area as they rushed in. She looked a little like Lu Ling except, taller, younger and more fluent.

She asked if she could seat them (obviously deciding to put aside their previous spectacle), they declined and Sharpay rushed into a frantic explanation of what had happened since yesterday. For a moment they thought she wouldn't believe them, she would tell them to go home and study or something. Instead she smiled with a tense sort of cheerfulness and said "One moment please." A few moments later she was back from the kitchens, dragging the old Chinese woman behind her.

"Aha!" Sharpay had exclaimed and pointed accusingly.

"What you mean, aha?" Lu Ling had snapped. "I do nothing wrong."

"Dude, you totally pulled a Freaky Friday on us!"

Lu Ling blinked. "I do nothing wrong."

"Ai-ya!" the hostess had exclaimed suddenly and began to scold the woman in fierce Chinese.

Suddenly they seemed to come to a stalemate and glared at each other in silence.

"Well," Gabriella had interjected, struggling for patience. She wanted her bed and her mum and Troy. She had seen him put his hand around Sharpay's shoulder earlier and it seriously ticked her off.

"Take back this voodoo stuff right now!" Sharpay had said.

The hostess stared at them primly. "Firstly…the Chinese do not indulge in voodoo. Second, she can't simply take it back. Whatever the fortune requires of you, you must comply. Then-probably- the magic will reverse itself. I am very sorry. Please except some complimentary spring rolls!"

Gabriella had gone for the spring rolls but Sharpay snatched them first. "Not with my body you're not!"

Gabbie sighed and sat up in Sharpay's bed. She re-read the fortune they had fished out of the bathroom bin.

"A journey soon begins…blah, blah, blah…what you see is what you lack, then selfless love will change you back."

She snorted in a way that would make Sharpay proud. There was no love between them. So how could they find selfless love?

A knock on the door made her start and a moment later Ryan walked in.

"Hey, Shar." Gabriella shifted uncomfortably as Ryan flung himself onto the bed next to her. He tossed off his cap. She could smell the herbal shampoo.

"Hey," she said with a grouchiness that wasn't at all feigned.

"Hey," he mimicked her gruffly and poked her side.

Gabriella as Sharpay rolled her eyes, but she found herself fighting a smile.

"What's that?" Before she could even think Ryan snatched the fortune from her hand and began to read in a low, slow murmur.

"This from the Great Wall?" She nodded. "And the cookie that never was? Right." He had rather pretty eyes, she noted. Not as nicely shaped as Troy's but lovely all the same.

He snorted suddenly. "Selfless love. I'm assuming that doesn't apply to Gabriella."

Her heart skipped a beat at her own name. What did he and Sharpay say about her in the privacy of their home?

"That little bug?" she said, conjuring up all the Sharpaic nastiness she could manage, and some of her own, too. "Of course not!"

Ryan sighed. "I really wish you would leave her alone already, Shar." Gabbie wished she would, too. "I mean, I know she took Troy and your part in the musical or whatever, but you've done so much for the Drama Club already. This was a first for her and she did really well. She was…"

"Beautiful?"

"More than."

Gabriella suppressed a smile. She was fishing for compliments and he didn't even know it. It just sounded sweeter coming from him. "She was average."

Ryan shook his head and rolled off the bed. "Just please try and be…okay with her. If not pleasant. Because she's really great when you just talk to her."

"And how would you know that? It's not like you're best friends or anything."

Ryan shrugged. "I just…I know. Dinner will be ready soon," he changed the subject rapidly.

Words suddenly failed her as she looked at him. There was just something so wholly…good about him.

Gabriella only realised that she had been holding her breath after Ryan left the room.

Sharpay

"I suppose we should just settle in for now."

That was all Gabriella could say as they trudged to each other's homes. Settle in. Settle in? How was she supposed to just settle in to this middle-class mediocrity?!

All right. She was willing to admit she liked spending time with Troy. She wasn't used to being so close to him that the smell of his cologne stayed on her clothes after he was gone. It was a good feeling, being all cherished, the way she had been with Zeke. But it was all hindered by the fact that when Troy touched her he was not touching her. And when he looked at her he saw Gabriella's eyes. She had thought of him a lot, in the privacy of her room with the lights out. And now it was all happening, just not the way she pictured it. Plus, she could not fully enjoy everything because she was so busy trying to be boring. She and Gabbie had made a deal to not deliberately mess up each other's lives, or else things would get more unpleasant than they already were.

She was also willing to admit that it was nice to spend time with a friend that wasn't Ryan. But Kelsi just got so annoying sometimes and Taylor wouldn't stop with the Science talk. Sharpay didn't want to talk about hydrogen bonds and all that Einsteinette baloney! She wanted to talk about music and dating and celebrity and politics. Nobody would believe it, but Sharpay did watch CNN sometimes. And- even crazier- she knew what was going on.

There was a quiet knock on the bedroom door.

"Gabbie?" It was her mother until further notice.

"Yeah?"

"Dinner's ready."

She sighed. "'Kay. I'll be right down."

On the dinner table were "quesadillas" which were unfortunately so delicious they cheered Sharpay up a little.

She looked around the kitchen. The dining room was no longer in use. Probably because Gabbie's dad wasn't around. She didn't know what had happened to Mr. Montez, but even if she was in her own body she wouldn't have asked.

"Mum?" But there was one thing she could ask, and she felt compelled to at that moment. "You don't ever really…date or anything, do you?"

She smiled uncertainly. "Oh, you know I'm too busy for that. Why do you ask?"

Why didn't she ask before, is what Sharpay was wondering. As much as she hated her dad for being too busy for them, she knew she would not be able to go on knowing she could never see him again. Dads were important, and so were husbands. Everybody needed one, or at least something close.

She shrugged Gabbie's shoulders.

"It's just…don't you ever get like…lonely? Or anything?"

The smiled faded a little, despite her best efforts. "Of course not. I've got you, don't I?"

Just the type of thing a self-sacrificing supermum would say. "But aren't there times," she persisted, "when you come home to this big empty house while I'm at school, and you wish you had…a male around?"

Mrs. Montez shook her head slowly, concentrating on her plate.

"Gabbie…I know how you feel about me dating."

"How do I feel about you dating?"

"The way every child has a right to feel. You- you think that no one could ever be as good as you're dad, and no one ever will be. You think me dating would be some kind of insult to his memory."

Sharpay frowned. So there was a chink in Golden Gabbie's armour after all!

"Don't you think I'm being selfish?"

She suddenly looked upset. "You have homework to finish, Gabriella," she aid softly. "Let's not talk about this now."

Sharpay knew better than to pursue it further.

"Thanks for dinner," she mumbled.

Mrs. Montez eyed her curiously as she began to clear the plates and Sharpay made a quick exit.

Author's Note: Things are getting a little heavy now! Don't worry. This isn't going to plunge into the realms of HSM angst.