LAST TIME
"Hey – Troy?" It was Gabriella. Fuck.

XXX

It didn't even seem like she wanted to talk to him.

"Yeah, what's up?" Troy said, trying his best to sound as indifferent as she had. He only succeeded in sounding like he was going through puberty again.

"Oh, hi – is Ry – Chad with you?"

He knew what she was going to say. Troy suddenly felt jealousy creeping up on him again. "No, Chad's not here. I'm not even home." Troy said, putting extra emphasis on his friend's name.

"Oh. It's just he left me a message earlier and now I can't even get hold of him."

"Oh. Can't help. But if I talk to him, I'll…"

"Thanks."

"Yeah."

"Well, bye."

"Bye."

Troy clicked his phone off.

"Idiot!" he lashed out at himself. He saw someone peer out at him from behind a curtain and decided it would be a good idea to start moving again. Making a quick decision, Troy started running in the direction of the Evans' estate. He decided it was about time he figured out why his girlfriend was so buddy/buddy with Ryan.

XXX

It was only after he had rung the doorbell that Troy realized it probably hadn't been the best idea to visit the Evans' directly after a run. 'Screw it.' he thought. It was too late now. He would just try not to drip sweat all through the foyer.

"Troy! What a nice surprise!"

Troy inwardly groaned. Of all the people that could have answered the door, it had to be Sharpay? Troy decided God must have a sick sense of humor. Didn't they have butlers or something for this?

"So what can I do for you Troy?" said Sharpay, shamelessly eyeing the Wildcat's body.

"Well, actually I'm looking for you brother – he around?" asked Troy, putting on his best 'hottie' grin.

But the drama queen's demeanor changed instatly.

"Oh, him." She said with a sneer. "I think he's here. One minute." She then slammed the door in his face, although Troy couldn't understand why, because when she yelled "RYAN!" he heard her as clearly as he would have if the door had been left open.

Nevertheless, two minutes later, there he was. Ryan Evans in all his color coordinated glory, glaring at Troy like he didn't deserve to be breathing the same air.

"Sharpay said you wanted to see me?"

"Uh, yeah." Troy mentally kicked himself. He sounded nervous. It was just Evan's for God's sake. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you and Gabriella…"

"Is that all?" Ryan interrupted him.

"What do you mean, "Is that all?" I'm so sick of…"

"Troy, I'm gay – not stupid."

"Wha?"

"You're jealous that I can hang out with Gabriella and give her emotional support that she's obviously not getting from you."

Troy was quickly getting pissed off.

"You have no right to say that, asshole. She gets plenty of support from me!"

"Troy, you telling her how gorgeous she is while you're fucking her hardly counts as support."

"What?!" Troy stammered. "I…she…we've never…" Troy knew he was blushing, and he hated it. Ryan had the upper hand now, and he knew it.

"Oh, really? So all those times she came to me, telling me about how her boyfriend takes her "to the most romantic spots" and really "takes care of her" when they're making love – she wasn't talking about you? Interesting. Although I guess that would explain the nasty rumors I've been hearing around school."

Troy was dumbstruck, but it only took him a moment to recover.

"Okay, Evans. Obviously you're trying to tell me something so just stop beating around the bust and tell me!"

Ryan let out a laugh like what Troy said was the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

"Are you really that thick-headed? Fine. Your girlfriend is a whore."

Troy knew he should be pounding Ryan into the pristine white foyer by now, but all he could think was "She's not my girlfriend anymore."

Ryan just smirked and slammed the door in Troy's face.

XXX

Troy stared at the door, willing it to open. He prayed that Ashton Kutcher would jump out at him, laughing and telling him he'd just been Punk'd. That everything that Ryan had said was a lie – how could he be gullible enough to believe any of it?

But after five minutes with no sign of life Troy was forced to face the face that he was not being Punk'd. Deciding that he just wanted to go home and sleep off this entire day, Troy switched on his iPod as he ran down the Evans' driveway. He turned the volume up and headed for home.

Halfway home, and Troy's thoughts were still racing. He ran faster, trying to catch up with them. When that didn't work, Troy reached into his pocket and turned his music up even louder to block out his thoughts.

I don't want to be here fading, it's more than I can take.

I'm never gonna be the same.

I threw it all away.

I don't want to be here fading.

Just let go.

Troy became so focused on the words of the song and his feet against the pavement that he finally forgot everything around him, and ran right into the path of an oncoming car.

END CHAPTER SEVEN

Yay! I love this chapter. Which is funny, because my original draft of this chapter is almost completely different. But that's okay because if I hadn't changed it, I wouldn't have known where to go from here – but no worries – I do now! Song used this time is Let Go by Red. So, 'til next time…

Love!

Review!

PoeticDream