hey everyone.

sorry this update took so long. ive been so blocked and uninspired lately. i'm also teaching FOUR swimming classes now, which includes writing 16 lesson plans (4 times 3 weeks and long term plans...), individual evaluations, and the actual teaching which takes up 4 hours of my sundays, and a lot of energy.

on top of school and work, that doesn't leave me much time or engery to write, unfortunately.

anyways, i had a good chunk of this chapter done a while ago, i just had to write the end for it. I'm not too crazy about this chapter, as there's a lot of dialogue in it, except for the last part where there's no dialogue at all...

oh, and about last chapter. if you didn't understand Gabriella's evil scheme, she got Ryan and Troy backstage where she figured they'd start kissing or doing something, and then she filled up the auditorium with people, with the hope that she'd lift the curtains, turn all the lights on and reveal to everyone Troy and Ryan kissing... or doing something else. thankfully, Sharpay intervened. hope that clears things up if it was confusing.

as for this chapter, it puts a lot of focus on everyone's favourite Ice Princess. enjoy!

-Chapter Sixteen-
Ice Turns to Water

Ryan had never seen his sister like this. The following day, she was still in a rotten mood. Her shoes didn't match her hairband, her eye shadow clashed with her lip gloss, and she mixed two different shades of pink with her clothes, which made her look like she had a very bad and uneven sunburn. She snapped at Ryan when he pointed out how her blouse was buttoned wrong, and for the whole duration of their drive to school, she was muttering angrily under her breath.

"...no good dirty rotten filthy piece of—"

"Sharpay?"

Sharpay's piercing glare was redirected at Ryan, and he sank into his seat a few inches. The icy stare softened, and she placed a hand on Ryan's lap.

"So it's true then. You're going out with Troy?" She asked him, in an unusually soft voice. Ryan nodded.

"Yeah. For a while now." Ryan hoped Sharpay wouldn't get mad at him for keeping such a big secret. Her reaction was unexpected as she chuckled softly.

"I figured." She said.

Ryan groaned. Her too? He and Troy would definitely have to work on being less obvious. "And how did you figure that out?" He asked.

Sharpay gave him a half smile and cleared her throat.

"'Gee Ryan, you look tense, let me fondle your shoulders.'"

"'Oh yes Troy, I love it when you touch me.'"

Sharpay squeezed the steering wheel like it needed a good back rub.

"'Oh yes Troy! Oh you make me so horny!'"

Ryan laughed at Sharpay's ridiculous impression. "That's so not how it happened."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "That was the general idea."

"Okay, so maybe we were a little obvious." Ryan said. His laughter died down and it was a while until he spoke again. "Are you, uh… okay with it?"

"No." Sharpay stated plainly. "I find it totally revolting, and I'm ashamed to call you my brother." She cast Ryan a dark look and shook her head. "I'm so disappointed in you. What will mother say?"

Ryan swallowed and looked down. "Gee Sharpay… I'm sorry." Ryan felt sick. He thought Sharpay cared for him. He scolded himself. He was getting his hopes way too high. Out of nowhere, he heard a giggle, and turned to look at Sharpay.

"Haha! That was priceless!" She squealed. "Your face! Hahaha, I wish I had a camera!"

"What?" Ryan asked.

"You must be taking stupid lessons from Troy." Sharpay joked. "You usually don't fall for my acts."

Realization dawned on Ryan, and he gave Sharpay an annoyed look. "That was so not funny, Shar."

"Yes it was, Ry." Sharpay replied cheekily. "Of course I'm okay with it!"

Ryan smiled. "I'm really glad to hear that." That made three people that accepted him and Troy. Ryan felt pretty lucky that so far, everyone he and Troy had come out too, accidentally or otherwise, were totally supportive of their decision. "You sure you're okay with it?"

Sharpay nodded. "I've had some time to think about it."

Ryan gave her a sideways glance. "And you're not mad at all that it's Troy?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Ryan, I don't have a problem with you being gay."

"No, not that." Ryan said. "I mean, are you okay that it's Troy." Sharpay looked to her brother. She clued in to what he was trying to say.

"Oh. Yeah… I'm okay." Sharpay managed.

Ryan felt a bit guilty now. He always knew Sharpay had a thing for Troy. She had for a long time now. He hoped she had sort of gotten over him after the fiasco at the country club last summer, but then again, Sharpay wasn't one to just give up on things. He gave his sister a grateful look.

"Thank you Sharpay."

"Oh stop thanking me!" Sharpay groaned. "You're going to make me sound nice." The two shared a look, and laughed out loud.

-o-O-O-O-o-

Troy was waiting for Ryan at the usual spot at the end of the parking lot. Sharpay's pink blur roared into the parking lot five minutes late as usual. She parted ways with Ryan, but not before giving him a hug. She skipped off to classes, and Ryan jogged over to Troy.

"Good morning, Troy." Ryan chirped, looping an arm around Troy's and steering him toward the school.

"Fashionably late as usual, I see." Troy said, placing a kiss on Ryan's blond head.

"Of course." Being so 'fashionably late', Troy and Ryan were allowed to hold hands, as everyone was already on their way to class.

"How does Taylor even know when we do it?" Ryan asked, bewildered.

"She probably hacks into the school surveillance cameras." Troy said, chuckling.

Ryan laughed. "That wouldn't surprise me." As they pushed through the front doors into the foyer, Troy stopped Ryan to ask him something.

"So… how did Sharpay take it?"

Ryan made a face. "Well… better than I had hoped…" Troy nodded.

"She's okay with you being gay, but she still likes me?"

"Bingo." The two boys sighed, and continued their walk.

"Don't get me wrong. Your sister's a really nice girl. She's just… not my type."

Ryan nodded. "She's trying to accept that. But it isn't easy. Still, she's been totally accepting of us being gay. I think that's pretty cool."

"Yeah." They walked on, and suddenly Troy was aware of the fact that they had walked to the wrong end of the school. "Hey Ryan…"

"Yeah?"

"We're nowhere near Ms. Darbus' classroom." Ryan took a moment to take in his surroundings. Pausing, he looked at the corridor around them. They were in the languages hall, on the opposite side from Ms. Darbus' room. "How did that happen?"

"Guess we were too… preoccupied." Troy said, pulling Ryan closer as he enunciated the last word.

Ryan grinned and wrapped his arms around Troy's waist. "And we know what happens when we get preoccupied." He took Troy's shoulders and pushed him into the lockers, sealing his mouth over Troy's. Troy moaned as Ryan's hands slid down the back of his jeans.

"Ryan." Troy whispered urgently. "Weren't we gonna work on… playing it cool?" Soft moans and gasps punctuated his sentence.

"Oh Troy." Ryan growled. "How can I play it cool when you're so hot?" Troy could feel Ryan tugging on his pants.

"Not here Ryan!" Troy gasped. Ryan stopped and pulled away, a bit frustrated.

"Then where?"

Troy gave him a furtive grin and pulled out his car keys. "Let's go for a ride."

-o-O-O-O-o-

Sharpay sighed as she walked to her car, alone. The last bell had gone, and Sharpay was ready to head home. Her brother, on the other hand, was not.

Passing Troy's locker on the way to her own, Sharpay had seen Ryan with Troy yet again. One look at them holding hands was enough to tell Sharpay that Ryan would not be accompanying her that afternoon.

Finally, everything made sense. All those extra rehearsals with Troy. All those lunch blocks he mysteriously disappeared. It was because he was going out with Troy…

Sharpay wanted to be happy for Ryan. She knew she should have been, but she wasn't. And him being gay was the least of her problems. Truth be told, she wasn't the least bit surprised, seeing how he owned more pink than she did.

For one thing, it bothered her that Ryan and Troy were able to keep it a secret for so long right under her nose. She had only found out yesterday, but judging by the way they were making out, they obviously had some experience. Sharpay shuddered as another thought entered her mind. Had they… done it yet? Was it… possible?

Sharpay frowned as she stepped into her car and started it. "Of course it's possible." She muttered to herself. "They just…" But she didn't finish her sentence and shook the horrifying images out of her head.

She was a bit annoyed. After all, she and Zeke had only kissed twice… and it wasn't really that spectacular… Thinking about Zeke made her feel a bit guilty, as another reason she was upset was the fact that Ryan was going out with Troy of all people. By now, she should have gotten over Troy. It had been, what, over seven months now? A lot had changed since summer vacation, and she really ought to have moved on by now. Especially since she had a boyfriend. Still, she wouldn't not deny that sometimes she wished Troy loved her. And now that he was going with Ryan did not help things at all.

Sharpay groaned as she sped through the busy intersections. She felt pretty shitty now. She felt bad for not being happy for Ryan. She felt jealous that Troy had chosen Ryan over her. She felt guilty that she was even thinking these things when she had Zeke. All in all, she felt completely terrible. As she turned the steering wheel, a glint of light reflected into her eye. She lifted her left hand from the wheel to notice the charm bracelet dangling from her wrist. A silver heart twinkled in the spring sun, and Sharpay was reminded of the day she received it. The day the Ice Princess melted.

Sharpay riffled through her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Hitting speed dial, she held the phone to her ear. She waited patiently for the ringing to yield her beloved's voice.

and there you have it.

i wrote and published a new oneshot the other day, called Kiss the Girl. It's a tryan (naturally), and its based on a true story. check it out if you want. and for the record, i love the Ashley Tisdale version of that song.

i foresee the end of this story soon. i have ideas for new stories, but nothing is really ready so i might take a short break after this one is done. we'll see.

i hope you guys liked that chapter. reviews are always welcomed. thanks for reading!

peace